Twin car bombs exploded outside a government building where amnesty talks were underway Monday in Nigeria's restive and oil-rich region, wounding two people and causing panic, a government spokesman said. Monday's bombing is the most daring attack claimed by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta since the group abandoned an unconditional cease-fire agreement with the government. It also may signal the end of amnesty negotiations that have fallen apart during the long illness of Nigerian president Umaru Yar'Adua, who brokered the deals before his health worsened. On Monday, MEND, which is the most prominent militant group in the Niger Delta, promised more attacks. In a statement e-mailed to reporters minutes before the bombing, MEND said the bombs were part of a new wave of attacks that would sweep across the Niger Delta. “The deceit of endless dialogue and conferences will no longer be tolerated,” the group's statement read. “The lands of the people of the Niger Delta was stolen by the oil companies and northern Nigeria with the stroke of a pen.” Delta state spokesman Linus Chima told The Associated Press just before the bombing that “there is nothing to worry about at all.” A live broadcast of the event carried by African Independent Television, a Nigerian satellite channel, showed officials did not evacuate the government building after receiving the warning. On the live broadcast, an explosion could be heard in the background, halting a speaker in mid
