尼日利亚首都的警方说，至少7人在独立庆典仪式附近发生的爆炸事件中身亡。阿布贾的目击者称，星期五，两枚汽车炸弹在几分钟内接连爆炸，第二枚炸弹炸死了第一次爆炸发生后围观的一些人。警方说，7人被炸死，其中包括一名警官。这两次爆炸都发生在一座联邦法庭大楼前。第三次较小的爆炸发生在雄鹰广场。那里是庆祝尼日利亚独立50周年游行的地点。
包括大型阅兵式在内的庆祝庆典按计划进行，总统乔纳森和其他政要都出席了庆典。尼日利亚最臭名昭著的激进组织尼日尔三角洲解放运动在爆炸发生约一小时前曾发出警告。尼日尔三角洲解放运动以前曾发动过袭击，袭击目标包括外国石油公司。
Police in Nigeria’s capital say at least seven people have been killed in explosions near the country’s independence day celebrations. Witnesses in Abuja say two car bombs exploded within minutes of each other Friday, with the second bomb killing people who had gathered after the first blast. Police say the seven dead include a police officer. Those explosions occurred in front of a federal court building. A third, smaller explosion went off at the Eagle Square parade grounds during ceremonies marking Nigeria’s
50 years of independence.
The ceremonies, including a long military parade, went ahead as planned, in the presence of President Goodluck Jonathan and other dignitaries. Nigeria’s most prominent militant group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, had warned of the explosions about an hour before they occurred. MEND has history of attacks, including assaults against foreign oil companies.