ABUJA, (Reuters) – Car bomb explosions killed eight people and injured three near a parade in Nigeria’s capital yesterday marking the 50th anniversary of independence, police said.
Two blasts, which also destroyed three cars, came an hour after the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), Nigeria’s biggest rebel militia, warned it had planted several bombs and told people to evacuate the area. A Reuters cameraman said security forces and firemen in the capital, Abuja, had been dousing a fire in a car after the first explosion when a second blast hit, about 1 km (half a mile) from the parade ground where hundreds of Nigerian and foreign dignitaries sat.
“Two car bombs exploded and eight people are confirmed dead,” Abuja police spokesman Jimoh Moshood told Reuters. The lavish celebrations with army bands, dancing children and air force displays continued unabated, with President Goodluck Jonathan, who faces an election early next year, arriving in an armoured limousine shortly after the bomb threat.
After his departure, his office issued a statement condemning the attack as a “dirty and wicked act” and vowing to bring its perpetrators to justice.
“To those behind these vicious acts, the president wants you to know that you will be found, and you will pay dearly for this heinous crime,” the statement said.MEND has been fighting for years for a greater share of oil revenues from the impoverished Niger Delta, home to Africa’s biggest oil and gas industry.
Although most of its activities have been focused on the creeks and swamps of the delta, MEND has struck further afield, including at off-shore oil installations and in the heart of Nigeria’s commercial capital, Lagos.
“Several explosive devices have been successfully planted in and around the venue by our operatives working inside the government security services,” the warning email, signed by MEND spokesman Jomo Gbomo, said.
“In evacuating the area, keep a safe distance from vehicles and trash bins.”
