Nigeria's main militant group said on Monday that one of its commanders arrested over the weekend had surrendered in return for the promise of a financial reward and denied that the army had raided his camp.
The emailed statement from the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) is the latest salvo in a propaganda war with the military which risks tarnishing President Goodluck Jonathan in the run-up to elections next April.
Nigeria's army paraded a militant commander known as Obese and 60 of his followers before the media on Saturday, saying they had been arrested and five AK-47 rifles, 12 machine guns, ammunition and bullet-proof vests seized.
"There was no exchange of gunfire and these individuals handed themselves over to the military in expectance of a reward, as promised by Jonathan," MEND said in the statement, describing the president as a "spineless stooge".
"Weapons surrendered by these persons were less than 30 in number. Items displayed by the Nigerian military did not come from that camp. This was staged."
Obese, 25, whose real name is Tamunotonye Kuna, was believed to be responsible for the kidnapping of 19 oil and construction workers freed last week, including two Americans, two Frenchmen, two Indonesians, one Canadian and 12 Nigerians.
The authorities have described the freeing of the hostages and the arrest of Obese as a key victory in the Niger Delta.
Analysts said the weapons seizure did appear small for what was said to have been a major camp.
Resurgent unrest in the Niger Delta risks undermining the credibility of Jonathan, who is the first head of state from the oil region and who brokered an amnesty last year which led thousands of gunmen to lay down their weapons.
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