Five persons have been killed in Piri Village of Potiskum Local Government area of Yobe state, North-east Nigeria.
Eye witness accounts claim that the worshippers of ECWA Church, Piri, were in a prayer session within the Church at about 2AM this morning when unknown gun men suspected to be Boko Haram sect stormed the church killing five of them and setting the church ablaze.
The Pastor of the Church is reported to be amongst those killed during the Christmas Eve midnight service.
The Police Public Relations Officer in Yobe State, Salihu Adamu (DSP) who confirmed the incident to Channels Television in Damaturu said five people were reported killed in the attack.
He however said the Divisional Police Officer is yet to give details of the attack.
Also confirming the attack, a military spokesperson, Eli Lazarus, told Reuters news agency that “unknown gunmen attempted to attack Potiskum but were repelled by the troops. While they were fleeing, they attacked a church in a village known as Piri.”
Piri is a village outskirt of Potiskum and predominantly an indigenous Christian settlement.
The Christmas day attack is coming just as Pope Benedict XVI in his Christmas message on Tuesday, prayed for “concord in Nigeria”, as he lamented the “savage acts of terrorism” that frequently target Christian churches in Nigeria.
Yobe state has recorded a number of such attacks on Churches, schools, police stations and markets.
