LAGOS (AFP) - A suspected explosion went off at a shopping centre in the Nigerian capital Abuja on Tuesday, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said in a statement.

"About 30 minutes ago (around 9:00 pm Nigerian time) officers of NEMA received an alert over a suspected explosion at a Shopping Mall (Plaza) in Wuse Abuja II," NEMA spokesman Yushau A. Shuaib said in a statement received by AFP in Lagos.