Nigeria bomb blast claims 8 lives

A bomb explosion on Christmas Eve has claimed the lives of at least eight people and injured several more in central Nigeria, reports say.

Some reports also say at least nine bombs went off in different parts of the central Plateau state within an hour of each other early Friday.

"It has been confirmed that eight people were killed and eight injured," national police spokesman Yemi Ajayi told AFP.

Gregory Yenlong, the state information commissioner, said that he had received reports that some 20 people have been killed in several explosions.

Ajayi, however, did not confirm the report, saying "there was an explosion" in the flashpoint city of Jos in the state of Plateau.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far.

The blast occurred in an area that has seen up to 1,000 people killed this year in sectarian clashes.

Local rights groups say hundreds have lost their lives in regional clashes in Jos so far this year.

Nigeria, which is Africa's most populous country and a major oil producer, is preparing to hold presidential, parliamentary and state governorship elections in April and some observers have warned of an increase in violence.