Nigerian Gov’t Unhappy About Terror Warnings Issued by U.S. Embassy

– The Nigerian government expressed irritation Wednesday after the U.S. Embassy in Abuja warned that Muslim terrorists may be planning new attacks on hotels in the capital – even though the last such warning proved to be justified.

“The U.S. Embassy has received information that Boko Haram may be planning attacks in Abuja, Nigeria, including against hotels frequently visited by Westerners,” the embassy said in an emergency message to U.S. citizens.

“The U.S. government has no additional information regarding the timing of these possible attacks,” it added. “The Nigerian government is aware of the threat and is actively implementing security measures.”

But Nigeria’s information minister, Labaran Maku, told reporters in Abuja that there was no need for alarm.

“Whereas we believe that every country has a duty to secure its citizens and take decisions that will ensure the safety of their nationals, we have always appealed to such embassies and agencies not to create public panic in our country,” he said, speaking outside a meeting of Nigeria’s cabinet.

“I will continue to appeal to all the foreign agencies in the country to align more with our security rather than often running to make statements, which can create undue panic among the public. And I am not sure that security comes from such measures,” he added.

Maku recalled that similar statements were “made by some embassies” a year ago. “When the issue came up last year, our security agencies re-assured the nation of their preparedness to safeguard all public places, especially the hotels.”

He did not mention the last time the U.S., British and Australian embassies warned citizens to steer clear of northern Nigeria for fear of Boko Haram attacks and to be especially vigilant around churches and places frequented by expatriates.

On that occasion, President Goodluck Jonathan’s spokesman questioned the need for the warning, saying “when people outside Nigeria talk about Boko Haram, they give impression that the entire country is under a siege but that is not the reality on the ground.”

Those warnings came early this month in the run-up to Easter. Three days later, dozens of Nigerians were killed when a car bomb was detonated near a church in the north’s Kaduna state during Easter Sunday services.

According to a United Nations body that monitors racial discrimination, more than 13,500 people have died in ethnic and religious conflict in Nigeria over the past decade. Most of those deaths were not blamed on Boko Haram, which was established in 2002 but became increasingly violent after its founder, Mohammed Yusuf, died in police custody in July 2009.

Christians have been the primary target of its attacks since then, although a Boko Haram suicide bombing at the U.N. headquarters in Abuja last August killed 25 people.

Asked during a briefing Wednesday whether the current embassy warning had been run past the Nigerian government before it was issued, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said he did not know, but also said “I don’t know that we would be obliged to do so.”

“As you know, in accordance with the department’s no double standard policy, when we deem a threat to any U.S. citizen’s safety or security to be specific, credible, and non-counterable, we do issue these kinds of emergency messages,” he said. “Non-counterable,” Toner explained, means “we can’t find any readily available evidence to dispute it.”