Bomb Blast Rocks Delta State (Photos)

A massive explosion on Friday rocked the Secretariat of the Isoko Development Union in Oleh, a university town in Delta State, witnesses have told PREMIUM TIMES. The huge blaze ripped through the facility, popularly known as Isoko House, hours after the union began its annual conference there. Witnesses said the incident appeared to be a coordinated attack, but added that no group has claimed responsibility as at 5:00 p.m. Friday. The Niger Delta, where Delta State is situated in Nigeria’s oil-rich south, has witnessed an escalation of hostilities in recent months, as militants targeted oil installations in a sustained effort to force the hands of the Nigerian government to up the region’s share of oil revenues. Meanwhile, the union has resumed the event with its annual award ceremony currently underway, the witness said.