You are here
NIGERIA: Islamists Gun Down Six Christians at Midnight Mass Then Torch the Church
By Jim Hoft on Tuesday,
December 25, 2012,
Christmas in Nigeria.
Boko Haram Islamists carried out a series of attacks on Christians this time last year. (BBC)
Gunmen shot six Christians dead including the pastor at a Midnight Mass Christmas celebration this morning. They then torched the church.
The AFP reported, via Religion of Peace:
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.
Gunmen killed six people attending midnight mass at a church in northern Nigeria on Christmas Eve, police and residents confirmed on Tuesday.
"A group of gunmen came into the village at midnight and went straight to the church... they opened fire on them, killing the pastor and five worshippers. They then set fire to the church," said Usman Mansir, resident of Peri village, near Potiskum, the economic capital of Yobe state.
Mansir specified that a branch of the Evangelical Church of West Africa (ECWA) was the congregation that was targeted.
A senior police official in Yobe confirmed the details to AFP, but declined to be named.
Boko Haram Islamists have carried out several attacks in Yobe, which borders the state of Maiduguri, where the insurgent group is based.
