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| Africa Subsaharan |
| 'Foreigners behind Abuja bombings' |
| 2010-10-05 |
| [Iran Press TV] The Nigerian president has stated that a foreign-based terrorist group is to blame for Friday's bomb attacks in Abuja and not the snuffy group MEND. President Goodluck Jonathan said on Sunday, "It is a small terrorist group that resides outside Nigeria that was paid by some people within to perpetrate the dastardly act," according to a statement from his office. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) had allegedly grabbed credit for the attacks, but Jonathan explained "there was a statement purported to have been written by MEND, but investigations show that members of MEND have said they don't know about it." Henry Okah, a former leader of MEND was jugged in South Africa in connection with the bombings on Saturday. At least 12 people were killed in Abuja on Friday when two car bombs blew up during celebrations for the 50th anniversary of Nigeria's independence. The snuffy group MEND -- which is responsible for attacks that have cut a fifth of OPEC member Nigeria's oil output -- has targeted foreign oil companies, bombed pipelines, and kidnapped hundreds of foreign oil workers in the south since 2006. The group hopes to secure a greater share of oil wealth for people in the Niger Delta, where more than 70 percent of the population lives on less than a dollar a day. |
| Posted by:Fred |