Nigeria: At least 19 killed in Church attack

By Areeb Hasni Aug 8th, 2012 ( 1 Comment )

Abuja: At least 19 people have been killed and many others wounded after three men opened fire on a Church in central Nigeria, just before Bible study began, media reported on Tuesday.

According to reports, the three men entered a central Nigerian church just before Bible study began, but instead of joining the worship service they opened fire, killing at least 19 people in an attack that shows that violence is spreading in the divided nation.

Witnesses and the military described a chaotic, blood-soaked scene at the Deeper Life church in Otite, a quiet neighborhood on the outskirts of the city of Okene, 250 kilometers (155 miles) southwest of Nigeria’s capital, Abuja.

The head of a local joint army and police unit, Lt. Col. Gabriel Olorunyomi, said that two gunmen sprayed the windowless sanctuary Monday night with fire from Kalashnikov assault rifles.

Another armed man stayed back and switched off the generator providing lights in the church, leaving those inside unable to flee as the gunfire flashed through the darkness, witness Lawan Saliu said. Saliu, who suffered gunshot wounds to the stomach, spoke from a hospital bed Tuesday.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack, but the violence came as Nigeria is facing attacks from a radical Islamist sect known as Boko Haram.

Olorunyomi said 15 people died in the church and four died later from their injuries. He said the number of wounded remained unknown, but that some of them sought care in hospitals, while others remained at home.

A rescue official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that probably fewer than 20 people were wounded in the attack.

Boko Haram, whose name means “Western education is sacrilege” in the Hausa language of Nigeria’s mostly Muslim north, has attacked churches in the past. The sect has also has attacked mosques. However, Boko Haram has not previously claimed responsibility for attacks on places of worship this far south.

The sect is blamed for more than 6o0 killings this year alone in Nigeria, increasing tensions between the Christian and Muslim living in the country.

Nigeria, a nation of more than 160 million people, is divided between a predominantly Muslim north and mainly Christian south. While members of the two faiths often live and work together, and intermarry.