Authorities in the Niger Delta have invited a group of around 50 rebels to lay down their weapons in return for oil and gas training.

While the region has enjoyed relative stability since an amnesty agreement was signed last year, authorities are still meeting pockets of resistance.

And after the death of rebel leader Soboma George last week in Port Harcourt, the authorities have urged militants serving under Mr George to lay down their weapons and engage with the localisation programme, the AFP reports.

Some 3,000 rebels are due to be trained under the landmark amnesty, which was signed in October last year.

The ceasefire agreement has since been buttressed by the introduction of local content legislation that requires all foreign oil companies in the country to give Nigerians priority access to jobs, as well as boosting training funding.

Since the ceasefire, oil production has more than doubled to around 2.1 million barrels, up from less than one million during the peak of rebel activity.

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