Nigeria tightened security Saturday at the busy Abuja international airport, a day after the militant group MEND threatened an imminent attack in the nation’s capital, travellers said.
The officials, armed with bomb detectors, screened vehicles about 250 metres (800 feet) out on the airport access road, including conducting physical inspections of some vehicles.
“There was no such security measures were in place at the airport three days ago,” one traveller said.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) threatened in a statement on Friday an “imminent” bomb attack on Abuja, which experienced twin car bombings two weeks ago in which at least 12 people died and several others injured.
The threat came in a statement that criticised the government’s response to the October 1 Independence Day bombings.
MEND, which claimed responsibility for the Abuja blasts, said that opponents of President Goodluck Jonathan have been falsely implicated ahead of elections early next year, and vowed to carry out another attack to prove them innocent.
Security officials with bomb detectors were also stationed Saturday at the entrance of the state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
The corporation which manages Nigeria’s vast oil and gas industry, carried out a simulated bomb drill for its workers shortly after the October 1 blasts.
Nigeria’s police chief Hafiz Ringim, promised in a statement on Friday to ensure the safety and security of lives and property all over the country.
MEND, Nigeria’s most prominent militant armed group, claims to be fighting for a fairer distribution of oil revenue in the impoverished Niger Delta, the heart of the country’s oil industry.
After the bombings ex-MEND leader Henry Okah was arrested in South Africa, where he lives.
Okah has denied any links with the nine people arrested in Nigeria in the aftermath of the October 1 attacks.
Thousands of ex-militants signed up to a government amnesty last year, which has been credited with greatly reducing unrest in the Niger Delta.
More than 5,000 of them have undergone a rehabilitation programme at a camp set up for them by the government.