JOS, Nigeria — Christmas Eve attacks by suspected Islamic extremists in northern Nigeria’s Borno state took the lives of six people at a Baptist church, as gunmen killed six others in Yobe state the same night.
In Borno state, where Islamic extremist group Boko Haram is based, six Christians were slain at First Baptist Church in Maiduguri on Christmas Eve. In Yobe state, gunmen believed to be members of Boko Haram reportedly entered the Evangelical Church Winning All in Peri, near Potiskum. They killed six Christians including a pastor before setting the church building ablaze. Several others were reported seriously wounded.
No group has claimed responsibility for the Christmas Eve attacks, but Boko Haram mounted Christmas assaults on Christians last year and in 2010. Boko Haram, which reportedly has ties to Al Qaeda, has vowed to eradicate Christianity from Nigeria and seeks to impose a strict version of sharia (Islamic law) on the entire country. Boko Haram has targeted churches, state offices, law enforcement sites and some moderate mosques in its effort to destabilize the government.
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