The main militant group in Nigeria’s oil-rich southern delta said it did not set a bomb that exploded inside a busy beer garden at an army barracks in the capital.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta sent journalists a statement Sunday denying responsibility for the bomb that killed at least four people and wounded 21 others.
Meanwhile, police said a radical Muslim sect set a church ablaze Saturday night in the northeastern city of Maiduguri. No one was hurt in the blaze set by the group known locally as Boko Haram.
Boko Haram claimed a series of Christmas Eve bombings that killed dozens in central Nigeria. Nigeria’s president said Saturday the explosives used at the barracks appeared similar to those used in that attack.
MEND Statement
To: chiefoyibo@oyibosonline.com;
Subject: Dec 31,2010 Abuja bomb blast
Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (M.E.N.D) denies any involvement in any of the bombings that took place in Abuja, Nigeria on Friday, December 31, 2010.
Bombings and attacks carried out by MEND are always preceded by a warning in other to prevent casualties and followed by a statement of claim.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (M.E.N.D) condemns the deliberate targeting of civilians by any persons or groups for what so ever reasons.
Jomo Gbomo