Death toll in Nigeria's blast rises to 19

Nineteen people died and 60 others were injured following Thursday's explosion on the outskirts of the Nigerian capital of Abuja, police said on Friday. Police spokesman Frank Mba confirmed the figures at a news conference held at the scene of the incident. The spokesperson of the Department of State Services (DSS), Marilyn Ogar, and an official of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) attended the briefing. Mba said that six others had been treated in the hospital and discharged. He also said that three unexploded improvise explosive devices were recovered from the scene of the blast, adding that they had been demobilized. "Investigations are ongoing and we appeal to the citizens to rally round the security forces at this critical point in our history. It will take the unity of all of us to defeat terror," he said. Mba declined to say whether any arrests had been made. "I will not speak at this stage on ongoing investigations but investigations are ongoing and we will give facts when it is right to do so," he said. Also speaking, Ogar said the cooperation of all Nigerians was required to win the war against terrorism. "We must take our security into our hands because the security agencies cannot do it all alone, it must be collective," she said. "The call here is for all Nigerians to rally round security agencies. It is not a time to say they are not doing what they are supposed to do." "The number of security personnel in the country is very small compared to the population, rally round us through information, no information is useless," she said. Mba had earlier given the casualty figures at 12 dead and 19 injured.