U.S., Western interests at risk of terror attack in Nigeria, U.S. Embassy warns

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) – The U.S. Embassy said Thursday that American and other Western installations are at risk of terrorist attack in Nigeria, but an embassy official said no specific threat had prompted the announcement.

Nigeria, which has never suffered an attack by an international terrorist organization, is a top supplier of foreign oil for the United States as it seeks alternative sources of crude amid turmoil in the Middle East.

Days ahead of the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, the U.S. Embassy said in an e-mail to U.S. citizens here that “the U.S. Mission in Nigeria has received information that U.S. and other Western interests in Nigeria are currently at risk for terrorist attacks.”

“Potential targets include official and commercial installations in Abuja and Lagos,” the capital and main commercial center, it said in a consular message.

A U.S. Embassy official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said the warning reflected general security concerns amid news of a terror plot in Germany and the upcoming anniversary of the Sept. 11 suicide attacks.

AP