Some 300 former militants operating in the creek oil rich Nigeria's Edo State has protested against what they termed their abandonment by the Nigerian federal government in Benin, the state capital.

The Nigerian government offered amnesty to gunmen last June in the oil-rich Niger Delta region, urging them to lay down their weapons by Oct. 4, 2009 in a bid to end the unrest which has cost the African top oil exporter billions of dollars in revenue.

The repentant militants marched to Government House to register their anger.

The protesters, led by Felix Oduo, said they surrendered their arms on Dec. 17, 2009 to representatives from the Ministry of Defense.

The arms hand over was done two months after the deadline.

Oduo told reporters that he was out of the country when the arms deal surrender took place.

On return, he said he made contacts, and special arrangements were made to enable his group surrender arms.

According to him, 402 members of the camp had yet to be documented to be eligible to benefit from the amnesty deal.

Oduo said the non-documentation and abandonment of his men had caused them much suffering and hardship, adding that keeping his boys under control had become a problem.

He said if something was not done urgently, they might be forced to go back to the trenches in the creeks.

In his reaction, senior special assistant to the state governor on Surveillance and Waterways Security, Henry Binidodogha, appealed to them to be calm.

He promised that leaders of the group would be invited for discussion after which the Minister of Defense, Godwin Abbe would be contacted.

Over 8,000 Nigerian armed youths gave up their weapons and embraced the amnesty offered by the Nigerian government in the most concerted effort yet to end years of fighting in the oil-rich producing region.

The Niger Delta is an unstable area where inter-ethnic clashes are commonplace. Access to oil revenue is the trigger for the violence. Over 300 foreigners have been seized in the Niger Delta since 2006. Almost all have been released unharmed after paying a ransom.

Attacks and bunkering on oil pipelines in the Niger Delta have cut Nigeria's output by around a fifth in recent years, helping push world oil prices to record highs since the beginning of 2006.

The unrest in the region has forced many international firms to flee the area. The government mobilized the Nigerian army and coast guard in an anti-banditry operation.