By
Maram Mazen and Elisha Bala-Gbogbo
“We refer you to the Nigerian police for further information,” Deborah MacLean, a spokeswoman for the embassy, said in an e-mailed statement, without giving more information. A spokesman for the police in Abuja, Moshood Jimoh, said by phone he was unaware of the incident.
Abuja and the mainly Muslim north have seen a surge in violence that has left more than 1,000 people dead since 2009. Authorities in Africa’s top oil producer blame Boko Haram, which draws inspiration from Afghanistan’s Taliban movement, for the unrest.
Boko Haram, whose name means “Western education is a sin,” claimed responsibility for the Aug. 26 suicide-bombing of the United Nations building in the capital that left 24 dead and for the bombing of a church near Abuja on Christmas Day that killed 43 people.
Abul Qaqa, the purported spokesman for the group, said on March 20 it is ruling out future talks with President Goodluck Jonathan’s government, and called on all Muslims in Nigeria “to join us in our struggle to Islamize Nigeria.”
Via Bloomberg TV
