A car bomb exploded outside the headquarters of Rivers State government in Nigeria's oil capital Port Harcourt on Saturday, but no one was killed, officials said. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), fighting for regional autonomy of Nigeria's oil producing south, claimed responsibility. It said a second explosive device malfunctioned and was retrieved by its fighters. "There was an explosion near government house Port Harcourt. It was very serious," said state government spokesman Blessing Nwikina. Police said no one was killed. Mangled, scorched pieces of a car were strewn across an access road to the newly built government headquarters. Broken shards of multicolored glass from Christmas decorations on street lamps were also scattered around.
At another government building across the road, shutters were shattered and metal debris from the vehicle was hanging on a wire perimeter fence. Police officers and a bomb disposal unit were at the scene.