Residents of Piri village near Potiskum in Yobe State had a subdued Christmas celebration yesterday following the killing of their pastor and six others during a pre-dawn attack. Locals said some yet to be identified gunmen stormed the village around 4am, shooting dead Pastor Yohanna Sini and others, and thereafter burnt over 20 houses.
Yobe State chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Reverend Garba Idi confirmed the incident, saying dead bodies of the seven people were found after the attack.
Piri is located along Nangere road, 2 kilometers away from Potiskum, which has seen bouts of deadly violence blamed on the Boko Haram sect.
Our correspondent gathered that the assailants stormed the village when most of the people were asleep after a night vigil preparatory to the Christmas celebrations.
"Many people ran into the bush with bullet wounds, so we cannot ascertain the number of casualties. And by the time the operatives of the Joint Task Force came, the attackers have fled," a resident said.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The AFP news agency reported that the deceased pastor was of a branch of the Evangelical Church of West Africa (ECWA).
Military Spokesman Eli Lazarus told the Reuters news agency that six people were killed in the violence, which happened when "unknown gunmen attempted to attack Potiskum but were repelled by troops".
"While they were fleeing, they attacked a church in a village," he said.
In related development, gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram members on Monday night opened fire on policemen at a checkpoint in Gujba local government area.
Locals said the attackers killed a policeman and burnt a primary school and a telecommunication mast.
A senior police source confirmed the attack saying the assailants waylaid the checkpoint on motorbikes and opened fire on the policemen. He said they also snatched a rifle before they fled.
Our correspondent reports that there was a ban on motorcycles in Gujba, Damaturu, Potiskum, Bade and Nguru local government areas following incessant attacks by bike riders.
Commissioner of Police Sunusi Rufa'i declined to speak on the two incidents.
The attacks in Yobe State came in the wake of peaceful Christmas celebrations nationwide, in spite of fears of violence.
A series of bomb attacks on last year's Christmas Day including on churches left almost 40 people dead and many more injured.
Reports from around the country yesterday, particularly the flash points in the North, indicate that Christmas activities were generally peaceful.
No incident was recorded in Maiduguri and Damaturu, the cities most hit by the Boko Haram insurgency in the past three years.
Similarly, no violence was recorded yesterday in Bauchi, where a gunman opened fire and injured some people on Monday.
In Kano, there was a shooting incident yesterday in which a local government chairman, a Muslim, was injured.
Daily Trust