KANO(AFP) – Gunmen
attacked a church in
northern Nigeria during a
midnight mass on Christmas
Eve, killing six people
including the pastor, before
setting the building ablaze,
residents and police said
Tuesday.
"A group of gunmen came
into the village at midnight
and went straight to the
church," said Usman Mansir,
a resident of Peri village near
Potiskum, the economic
capital of Yobe state.
"They opened fire on them,
killing the pastor and five
worshippers. They then set
fire to the church," he added,
specifying that a branch of
the Evangelical Church of
West Africa (ECWA) was
targetted.
A senior police official in
Yobe confirmed the details to
AFP, but declined to be
named.
Yobe police chief Sanusi
Rufa'i said "this is a security
issue" and refused to
comment further.
Boko Haram Islamists have
carried out several attacks in
Yobe, which borders the
state of Maiduguri, where
the insurgent group is
based.
The Islamists are blamed for
killing hundreds of people in
northern Nigeria since 2009.
It was not clear who was
behind the latest violence.
While Yobe's population is
overwhelmingly Muslim, the
commercial hub of Potiskum
has a significant Christian
minority. Peri is just two
kilometres outside the city.
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