Abuja Twitterers chronicle #Nigeriaat50 bomb explosions
A few minutes before deadly explosions ripped through Nigeria's 50th Independence Day celebration in Abuja on Saturday, Twitter user Achonu Stanley wondered about darkening skies over the festivities: "Would the day be marred by rain? It has become cloudy and dark. Sorry for the thousands of people at Eagle Square."
Stanley's 113 characters, typed in an instant of unsuspecting prescience, were among hundreds of tweets that captured the transition as the solemn, historic day turned bloody and chaotic.
Things started off slowly. Early Saturday, Tomi Oladipo, a BBC correspondent watching a live television feed from the commercial city of Lagos, pointed out dignitaries in the VIP stand. ("[Cameroonian First Lady] Chantal Biya's hair is unmistakable")
Another Twitterer, @diddykb24, grumbled about its pomp: "9billion naira spent on the eagle square parade...no light in my house for 3 days?? :s."
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About the author
Mohamed Hassim Keita is advocacy coordinator for CPJ's Africa Program. He regularly gives interviews in French and English to international news media on press freedom issues in Africa and has participated in several panels. Follow him on Twitter: [[www.twitter.com/africamedia_CPJ @africamedia_CPJ]].