Today was set as a celebration of 50 years of independence in Nigeria. Militants warned there is "nothing worth celebrating after 50 years of failure." They followed those words with bombs.
A car bomb detonated in Eagle Square in the capital Abuja as a military formation formed up for a parade. Moments later another car bomb. And then a third explosion. At least seven people were killed, perhaps more.
The parade went on, however.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, the main rebel group in the oil rich south of the country, issued a statement Friday:
"For 50 years, the people of the Niger Delta have had their land and resources stolen from them," the statement read. "The constitution before independence which offered resource control was mutilated by illegal military governments and this injustice is yet to be addressed."