[1] At about 11:00 WAT in the diplomatic zone in the centre of the city the car bomb vehicle broke through two security barriers.

Emergency services were quickly on the scene removing dead bodies from the building and rushing the wounded to hospital.

Cranes were brought to the blast site to move the mass of rubble and ensure that no-one is trapped there.

The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Viola Onwuliri, said: "This is not an attack on Nigeria but on the global community.

[4] In September 2011 the Nigerian Department of State Security alleged that Mamman Nur was the mastermind behind the attack and offered a ₦26 million (US$160,000) bounty.