By Heide Brandes

OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) - Convicted Oklahoma City bombing co-conspirator Terry Nichols is seeking the return of his guns seized by federal authorities so his family can sell them to support his adult children, lawyers said on Thursday.

Federal authorities confirmed that the FBI is in possession of guns Nichols, 60, owned as part of a gun show business. FBI agents seized the firearms after the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City that killed 168 people.

In a report to U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch in Denver, Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Padden said she "plans to have a further discussion with (Nichols) to explore whether (they) may be able to resolve this issue without court intervention."

In a handwritten request filed in July, Nichols asked Matsch to have the FBI turn over the seized guns to one of his two former wives or his sister so that the firearms can be sold to provide financial support for his children. He said the gun show business was not related to the bombing.

"(The) firearms had nothing to do with the Oklahoma City (OKC) bombing, none were used in the bombing, nor was the bomb set off by any type of firearm," Nichols said in the letter.

The bombing was carried out by Timothy McVeigh, an anti-government militant who was eventually convicted on federal charges and executed. Nichols was convicted of conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction and of involuntary manslaughter of eight federal agents.

Nichols is serving 161 consecutive sentences of life in prison without the possibility of parole.





(Writing by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Will Dunham)