The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) Monday threatened to bomb Lagos and Abuja over the alleged failure by President Goodluck Jonathan to address what it called key issues affecting the Niger Delta.

It also threatened to simultaneously carry out attacks on oil installations in the Niger Delta.

A statement by MEND's spokesman, Jomo Gbomo, said the bombing was being planned to drive home its opposition to the president’s failure to address the challenges of the Niger Delta.

Gbomo, however, said before executing the planned bombing, MEND would issue what he tagged advance warning, which he said would be followed by a final warning at least 30 minutes before the eventual attack.

He advised Nigerians to keep away from political gatherings or similar events, adding that the last Independence Day celebration bombing in Abuja would not have been so fatal but for the “callousness” of security operatives and “ignorance” on the path of the public.

He threatened that anyone who ignores this warning does so at his own peril.

The statement read in part: “Due to our commitment to avert avoidable loss of lives, advance warnings for immediate evacuation as previously will be issued and a final warning thirty (30) minutes prior to the blasts, after which will follow a statement of claim in line with our modus operandi.

“The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) advises the general public in the strongest of terms, to steer clear from all political gatherings or meetings of any sort. It should be recalled in our last Independence Day bomb blast that it was due to the callousness of the Nigerian security services and ignorance of the general public that led to the fatality. Again, anyone who chooses to ignore this warning does so at their own peril as the aftermath of

these blasts will be catastrophic.”

The statement also said MEND would toe the path of the North Africans by commencing a revolution that would cripple the Nigerian oil industry with the intention “to flush out all Western oil companies operating in the Niger Delta region and the simultaneous bomb blasts never anticipated in the history of this country”.