ABUJA – Gunmen from a radical Muslim sect attacked a town hall in Nigeria, killing at least 20 people who had gathered for a meeting of a Christian ethnic group.
The attack at noon yesterday targeted a town hall where Christian Igbo people were holding a meeting, with gunmen chanting “God is great” as they fired Kalashnikov rifles.
The killings claimed by Boko Haram come after the group threatened to begin specifically targeting Christians living in the country’s Muslim north in its increasingly bloody sectarian fight with Nigeria’s central government.
The attack occurred in Mubi in Adamawa state as Igbo traders held a meeting before opening up their shops, local police commissioner Ade Shinaba said.
“We started hearing many gunshots through the windows,” said Okey Raymond (48) who attended the meeting. “Everyone scampered for safety, but the gunmen chanted: ‘God is great, God is great’ while shooting at us.” Raymond said he hid under a table and escaped out a back door. The gunmen also carried knives and machetes, the police commissioner said.
No arrests have been made in the attack, which left at least another 15 people wounded.
Yesterday’s attack came after gunmen attacked a church in the northeast Nigeria city of Gombe during a prayer service on Thursday night, spraying the congregation with gunfire and killing at least eight people, local medical officials said.
In a statement to the Daily Trust, the newspaper of record in Nigeria's north, a Boko Haram spokesman claimed responsibility for the attacks. – (AP)