Nairobi/Abuja, Jan 1 (DPA) A series of bomb attacks in the Nigerian capital of Abuja left around 30 people dead on New Year’s Eve, media reports said Saturday.
Most of the fatalities were in a barracks market place that was devastated by a blast as people gathered to ring in the New Year, the online newspaper Next reported.
Witnesses spoke of 20 deaths, among them women and children. Members of the armed forces and their families lived in the complex.
It was not immediately clear who was behind the blast. The Punch newspaper cited an anti-terrorism expert Saturday saying that a connection with the Al Qaeda network could not be ruled out.
A spokesman for President Goodluck Jonathan drew a comparison to Christmas Eve attacks on churches in the central town of Jos, which left at least 80 people dead.
Another bomb exploded late Friday outside a church where worshippers were celebrating New Year’s Eve, the newspaper Vanguard reported.
Other reports spokes of a false alarm, saying the church and several others were evacuated, but no explosives were found.
Security forces took up positions at key points in Abuja during the night, the newspaper This Day said.
Soldiers began a search for explosive devices and police chief Hafiz Ringim warned people to be on the lookout for cars left unattended outside churches.
Members of the radical Islamist sect Boko Haram have been blamed for a series of attacks against police stations in recent days.
Over the past year, repeated clashes between Muslims and Christians – who each make up about half the population – have claimed hundreds of lives.
Politicians have warned of attempts to destabilise the country ahead of presidential elections due in April.
