Bomb hits UN building in Abuja

[RB TexLa]

By BASHIR ADIGUN, Associated Press – 56 minutes ago
ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — A large explosion struck the United Nations' main office in Nigeria's capital Friday, flattening one wing of the building. A U.N. official in Geneva called it a bomb attack.

"I saw scattered bodies," said Michael Ofilaje, a UNICEF worker at the building. "Many people are dead."

He said it felt like "the blast came from the basement and shook the building."

The building houses about 400 employees of the U.N. in Nigeria, including the majority of its offices. A local U.N. spokesman declined to comment.

Alessandra Vellucci, a spokeswoman for the U.N. office in Geneva, said the global body's offices in Abuja had been bombed.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gOTyKRMIh695bDlsnpuxCVTWxYWA?docId=25af455aab4440aeb6acaeccf757547b

[Syrinx]

1. damn I feel dumb

I feel like I should know the capital of Nigeria. "Abuja" doesn't sound the least bit familiar.

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. It used to be Lagos - they moved it some years ago

Abuja is a planned city,<2> and was built mainly in the 1980s. It officially became Nigeria's capital on 12 December 1991, replacing Lagos.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abuja

[Syrinx]

3. Lagos rings a bell

Thanks for that. Maybe I'm not over the hill after all. :)