- Title: NIGERIA: Nigerians concerned about security after bomb attacks
- Date: 3rd October 2010
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) ABUJA RESIDENT, MOHAMMED ABU, SAYING: "I feel sad about the bomb blast of yesterday because it's like a sabotage, because in the history of this country such things have not happened before, (inaudible). We have had a grenade blast by a little mistake by the military but it was not in public, but this very one in fact, it is a group of people that did it."
- Embargoed: 18th October 2010 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Nigeria
- Country: Nigeria
- Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,Domestic Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA3T666PH16YENE5K1V471077G2
- Story Text: One day after the Nigerian capital was rocked by two car bombs that killed eight people and injured scores of others, residents in Abuja said on Saturday (October 2) they were concerned about security.
The twin car bombs exploded on Friday (October 1) amid festivities marking the country's 50th independence anniversary celebrations.
The city remained calm on Saturday without heavy military or police presence and people carried on with their business as usual.
But the explosion remained the talk of the town as residents woke up to leading daily newspapers showing photographs of Friday's blasts, attracting many curious readers on street corners and raising safety concerns.
Abuja resident Mohammed Abu said he was saddened by what happened.
"It's like a sabotage, because in the history of this country such things have not happened before," Abu said.
Another resident, Godwin Okoli, said he blamed the attack on the level of security in the city and urged the government to step up and protect civilians from such attacks.
"It is a surprise to everybody, even we in Nigeria here, we have Nigerian army, we have navy, we have air force, we have police, we have...and those forces they have anti-bomb squad. It's a surprise to everybody that something like this happened without detecting."
Others worried about the explosions scaring off potential investors.
"This is a very massive blow to the Nigerian government as a whole, you understand, and it will portray the country in a very bad light, you understand -- the image of the country, because it will scare away foreign investors from investing in this country and it will affect the economy," said Elkana Habila, a resident of Abuja.
Friday's explosions destroyed three cars near a parade attended by top government and foreign dignitaries marking the country's 50th independence celebration.
The blasts came an hour after the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), Nigeria's biggest rebel militia, issued an email that warned it had planted several bombs and told people to evacuate the area. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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