Bombs, Oil Spill Shake Nigeria

Bonga is the first deepwater discovery of oil for Nigeria, and it produces nearly 10% of the nation’s crude oil. It is located approximately 75 miles off the Nigerian coast. Nigeria is the fifth largest supplier of oil to the U.S., having provided 826,000 barrels from the beginning of this year through September, the latest month for which figures are available from the U.S. Energy Administration.

Five ships were deployed by Shell to spray dispersants; the company also brought in experts to combat the spill, which could be the worst since an Exxon Mobil Corp. spill in January of 1998 lost approximately 40,000 barrels from the Idoho platform on the southeastern coast of the country. At that time, oil slicks were reported as far west as Lagos.

A series of bombings on Christmas Day targeted churchgoers and others, according to another Bloomberg report, with the Muslim sect Boko Haram claiming responsibility for the actions.

St. Theresa’s Church near the capital, Abjua. Yemi Ajayi, was hit just as services were ending; 20 people died in the blast. Another church-targeting blast in the central city of Jos, capital of Plateau state, killed a police officer. In the northeastern city of Damaturu, a suspected suicide bomber crashed a car into the entrance of the State Security Service building. Four people and the bomber were killed in that incident.