'Tell the imperialists, Shell or the other oil conglomerates they should leave. If they do not leave, the Ijaw people will make them leave whether Asari is in prison or not,' he told journalists in court shortly before his trial resumed at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

In a statement earlier Tuesday, Shell said that it was not planning to quit the Niger Delta.

'My position is very clear: if the the decision of the Ijaw people is to go on armed struggle, it is binding on me and I am in total support of it. Oil has brought a lot of misery to the Ijaw and the Niger Delta people. It has brought environmental degradation and communal strife,' he said.

Judge Olayiwola Peters, who rejected an application by the defence to dismiss the case, adjourned further trial until March 14.

Mujahid Dokubo-Asari with Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force bodyguards before arrest by Nigerian security forces.