Congregation killed and wounded when gunmen open fire on Deeper Life church in the town of Otite in Kogi state
Boko Haram has
attacked churches in the past, though never as far as south as this one.
Photograph: Goran Tomasevic/Reuters/Reuters
Gunmen fired on worshippers in a church in central Nigeria, killing at least 19 people, including the pastor, and wounding others, the military has said.
The attack targeted a Deeper Life church in the town of Otite in Kogi state, about 250km (155 miles) south-west of Nigeria's capital, Abuja. Police and soldiers surrounded the church on Tuesday morning, witnesses said. It was unclear how many people were wounded in the attack Monday night.
The gunmen surrounded the church during a service and opened fire with Kalashnikov rifles, military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Gabriel Olorunyomi said. The pastor was among the dead.
Soldiers searched for gunmen through the night, but had made no arrests as of Tuesday, he added, No group has claimed responsibility.
The killings come as Nigeria faces continuing attacks from a radical Islamist sect known as Boko Haram.
The sect, whose name mean "western education is sacrilege" in the Hausa language of Nigeria's Muslim north, has attacked churches in the past, though never as far as south. However, Boko Haram is thought to have carried out a February prison break in the town of Koton-Karifi in Kogi state in which 119 inmates escaped. In September 2010, the sect freed about 700 inmates in a large-scale prison break in the north-east city of Bauchi.
Boko Haram also has launched suicide car bomb attacks around Abuja in the past.
The sect is thought to have carried out more than 660 killings this year in Nigeria.
Nigeria, with a population of more than 160 million people, is largely divided into a Muslim north and Christian south. Boko Haram attacks have increased tensions over the last year.
The attack targeted a Deeper Life church in the town of Otite in Kogi state, about 250km (155 miles) south-west of Nigeria's capital, Abuja. Police and soldiers surrounded the church on Tuesday morning, witnesses said. It was unclear how many people were wounded in the attack Monday night.
The gunmen surrounded the church during a service and opened fire with Kalashnikov rifles, military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Gabriel Olorunyomi said. The pastor was among the dead.
Soldiers searched for gunmen through the night, but had made no arrests as of Tuesday, he added, No group has claimed responsibility.
The killings come as Nigeria faces continuing attacks from a radical Islamist sect known as Boko Haram.
The sect, whose name mean "western education is sacrilege" in the Hausa language of Nigeria's Muslim north, has attacked churches in the past, though never as far as south. However, Boko Haram is thought to have carried out a February prison break in the town of Koton-Karifi in Kogi state in which 119 inmates escaped. In September 2010, the sect freed about 700 inmates in a large-scale prison break in the north-east city of Bauchi.
Boko Haram also has launched suicide car bomb attacks around Abuja in the past.
The sect is thought to have carried out more than 660 killings this year in Nigeria.
Nigeria, with a population of more than 160 million people, is largely divided into a Muslim north and Christian south. Boko Haram attacks have increased tensions over the last year.
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