Nigerian police have rejected a report in the state-owned newspaper, Daily Times, that security forces shot dead a number of youths in the Niger Delta.

Reuters news agency quoted a senior police officer in the capital of Baleysa state, Yenagoa, as saying some people were arrested after disturbances, but the report of killings was completely untrue.

The newspaper alleged the youths were shot while they were being escorted to prison after clashes in Yenagoa at the weekend.

Many people left the capital amid increased tension following the newspaper report. There have been a number of clashes in the Delta region over the past two years as poor residents demand a greater share of local oil revenues.

President Olusegun Obasanjo has promised social and economic reforms to reduce the tension.