Gunfight in Nigeria's Delta oil region kills eight

Gunmen opened fire on a group of former militants in the oil producing Niger Delta late on Saturday, leading to a shootout that left eight people dead, a security official said.

None could confirm who carried out the attack. The men targeted were loyal to one of several Nigerian Delta militant leaders who accepted a government amnesty in 2009 in exchange for money, ending attacks that at one time shut down nearly half of production in Africa's biggest oil and gas industry.

Those killed included the younger brother of General Reuben Wilson, the leader of one former militant group, Wilson told Reuters at his house on Sunday where weeping mourners were gathered. He denied that his group had returned fired.

- Reuters