FG Orders Closure Of Schools,Offices In Abuja

The Nigerian government has slapped a massive security cordon on Abuja in response to a deadly car bomb Thursday, ordering the closure of all public schools and offices from Wednesday when the capital will be hosting the World Economic Forum on Africa.

 The economic meeting is scheduled to hold from Wednesday to Friday, and will be attended by world leaders and business executives around the world.

“This is to inform the general public that the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, GCFR, has approved, as part of arrangements for the successful hosting of the World Economic Forum Africa, that all Government Offices and Schools in the Federal Capital Territory, except those on essential services, are to be closed from Wednesday, 7th to Friday, 9th May, 2014. Private Organisations with large number of staff may also wish to close down,” Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Pius Anyim, said in a statement Friday.

 The government said the measure is to ease the flow of traffic within the city and enable those attending the forum carry out their assigned roles.

 The decision was the government’s first response since a car bomb exploded in Nyanya, a suburb of Abuja, late Thursday evening, killing at least 19 people and injuring dozens more. It was the second of such attacks in three weeks in Abuja. An earlier one on April 14 killed at least 75 people.