US eases Nigeria attack warning

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The US embassy in Nigeria has eased a controversial warning of potential attacks on hotels and other locations in the country's capital Abuja as a result of increased security and other factors.

A message posted on the embassy's website on Wednesday said "US government personnel are no longer instructed to avoid the Nicon Luxury, the Sheraton Hotel and the Transcorp Hilton Hotel."

"The embassy notes that increased security checks at major hotels, government facilities, and along major roadways over the recent Sallah holiday have improved the security environment to the general public," it said.

It also noted that the Muslim Sallah holiday, also called Eid al-Adha, had ended. The initial advisory specifically warned of attacks over the holiday, which was marked on Sunday, while Monday and Tuesday were also public holidays in Nigeria.

Its updated message said US citizens should however remain vigilant, particularly in the capital.

The embassy's unusually specific initial warning was issued in the wake of Friday's coordinated gun and bomb attacks in Nigeria's northeast claimed by Boko Haram that left some 150 people dead and was among the deadliest attributed to the group.

It said it had received information that Boko Haram may plan to attack several locations and hotels in Abuja during the Sallah holiday.

Nigerian authorities called the US warning about potential Abuja attacks "not news." Nigerian newspaper ThisDay quoted a senior security chief who called the US warning "insulting to us as a nation."

A US diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity that the advisory was based on specific and credible information, and that the embassy had no choice but to warn American citizens.

Boko Haram has been blamed for scores of attacks, including the August suicide bombing of UN headquarters in Abuja that killed 24 people.

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