JEDDAH  (AFP) – The head of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) on Monday condemned the “terrorist attacks” in Nigeria and urged for a violence-free Muslim Eid Al-Adha feast.

In a statement, OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu “strongly condemned the terrorist attacks” that shook Nigeria on Friday, describing them as “criminal… contrary to all human values and the noble Islamic values.”

The statement came three days after a wave of deadly blasts claimed by Boko Haram, an Islamist sect based in Nigeria, killed 150 people in the northeast region of the country.

Ihsanoglu, chief of the world’s largest pan-Islamic body, urged all parties to “respect the spiritual and religious meaning of the blessed Eid al-Adha by means of avoiding violence.”

Nigeria went on high alert on Monday following US and British warnings of fresh attacks during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.

The US embassy said on Sunday the sect could next strike hotels and other targets in the capital Abuja during the Muslim holiday which marks the end of the annual pilgrimage to Islam’s holiest sites in Saudi Arabia.

The British foreign office also warned of “a heightened threat of terrorist attacks during the Eid.”

Security was stepped up in Abuja, which has been a target of previous attacks, including an August 26 suicide bomb at the UN headquarters that claimed 24 lives.