Nigerian officials have said that at least two bombings struck a government office building in the African nation on Monday, after a rebel group warned that it had placed explosives around the perimeter. The incident occurred in the city of Warri in the Southern Delta province. No government officials were killed or injured in the blasts, spokesman Linus Chima told the international media. However, it was not immediately clear whether there were any civilian casualties. "Everybody is safe. There was an explosion but the security people are taking care of it," the public relations aide to provincial Governor Felix Ofou told the Financial Times by telephone. Political map of Nigeria. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) rebel group claimed responsibility for the explosions. In a statement, the Delta State Commissioner for Information, Oma Djebah, said the bombs were placed in vehicles around 200 meters from the building. Officials were meeting in the offices, contemplating plans regarding amnesty given to Nigerian rebels who agreed to stop fighting. The meeting "has been put off," Djebah noted, and officials were evacuated. He did not specify when the gathering would be resumed. The Delta State Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan and the minister for the Niger Delta were among those at the meeting. "It was a plan to scuttle the peace talks," Chima went on to say of the blasts.
Nigerian officials have said that at least two bombings struck a government office building in the African nation on Monday, after a rebel group warned that it had placed explosives around its perimeter. The incident occurred in the city of Warri in the Southern Delta province. No government officials were killed or injured in the blasts, spokesman Linus Chima told media. However, it was not immediately clear whether there were any civilian casualties. "Everybody is safe. There was an explosion but the security people are taking care of it," the public relations aide to provincial Governor Felix Ofou told the Financial Times by telephone. Political map of Nigeria. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) rebel group claimed responsibility for the explosions. In a statement, the Delta State Commissioner for Information, Oma Djebah, said the bombs were placed in vehicles around 200 metres from the building. Officials were meeting in the offices, contemplating plans regarding amnesty given to Nigerian rebels who agreed to stop fighting. The meeting "has been put off," Djebah noted, adding that officials were evacuated. He did not specify when the gathering would be resumed. The Delta State Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan and the minister for the Niger Delta were among those at the meeting. "It was a plan to scuttle the peace talks," Chima said of the blasts.
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