A key member of a Niger Delta oil rebel group has been confirmed as alive and well by members of his family.
The news comes over a week after Henry Okah’s rebel group threatened “anarchy” in the Delta region unless his family and lawyers were given access to him.
Mr Okah, head of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend), was arrested in September.
The government last week revealed charges of treason against Mr Okah, who faces a death sentence.
Mr Okah claims that at the time of his arrest he had been assured by the government that he would be part of a peace deal and would not be pursued by security services.
Through his brother, Mr Okah claimed to have met Vice President Goodluck Jonathan in South Africa last August where a “gentleman’s agreement” was made.
“He feels betrayed,” his brother Charles said.
But government sources said it was unlikely the vice president would have the power to make a deal with Mr Okah. A spokesman for the vice president was not immediately available for comment.
Mr Okah’s older brother Charles said he did not appear to have been physically harmed during his detention.
He and a friend, Edward Atatah, were arrested by the Angolan security services in September.
Interpol said the pair were trying to buy arms.
They deny the charge and say they were in Angola to buy a boat.
‘Strong and resolute’
They were extradited to Nigeria in February, where they have been kept in solitary confinement in an unknown location.
“He told me to tell every one that he’s strong and resolute, he was his typical self,” his brother Charles said.
“He says there is no substance to the charges. Anyone who has any evidence he is a gun-runner should come forward with the evidence.”
He said the only evidence the Angolans had that he was a gun-runner were two books, a motivational self-help book and another a book on military history.
Charles Okah said Mr Atatah had developed “psychological problems” after a month in solitary confinement.
“Edward is suffering from hallucinations. He talks to himself and believes things are coming out of his head,” Charles Okah said.
Femi Falana the lawyer representing the pair said Mr Atatah was suffering from “acute hypertension.”
He said they hoped to get a court to charge him or release him next week.
Mend emerged in 2006. They kidnapped oil workers and emailed pictures to news desks bringing attention to the Niger Delta.
Mend say they are campaigning for a greater share of the oil wealth, but government says they are criminals motivated by the ransoms they receive from oil companies.
Oil production has been slashed in Nigeria after attacks by militant groups on installations.