All schools and government offices in Abuja, the capital in central Nigeria, will close during the May 7-9 World Economic Forum on Africa, according to a presidential order that follows two bomb attacks in three weeks that killed nearly 100 people in which Islamic extremists are blamed for both, according to the Associated Press.
Security forces raided areas near the site of two bombings in Nigeria's capital and detained eight suspects including foreigners on Saturday, the Ministry of Defense announced as the city prepared to host a three-day international conference, the AP reported.
A statement Friday night said the measure "is to ease the flow of traffic" during the conference, to which hundreds of international personalities, business and African leaders are invited, according to the AP.
One more victim died in the hospital, raising the toll to 20 dead from Thursday's bombing, the AP reported. The government said it is deploying 6,000 police and troops to help secure the event, and President Goodluck Jonathan has assured delegates they will be safe.
Further indicating Nigeria's security threats, the U.S. Embassy warned Americans in an email Friday that "groups associated with terrorism" may be planning "an unspecified attack" on a Sheraton hotel in Nigeria's commercial capital, Lagos, according to the AP.
Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade, the Defense Ministry spokesman said in a statement Saturday that the eight people detained Saturday "are helping ongoing investigation with useful information," the AP reported. He said most of them are foreigners, without identifying nationalities.
Explosions on April 14 and May 1 in Abuja, in the center of the country, are blamed on the Islamic extremists Boko Haram terrorist network which has recruited fighters in neighboring Chad, Niger and Cameroon amid fears that its 5-year-old uprising could spread in the region, according to the AP.
More than 1,500 people have been killed in the insurgency this year, compared to an estimated 3,600 between 2010 and 2013, the AP reported.
