Nigerian news

Witnesses Say 15 Killed in Nigerian Church Attack

Witnesses say an attack inside a university theater used for Christian services in Kano, in northern Nigeria, has killed at least 15 people.

Many more people were reported wounded, but there is no confirmed total.

Witnesses say the attackers arrived at Bayero University by motorcycle and a car, hurling explosive devices and opening fire.

There has been no immediate claim of responsibility, but the radical Islamic group Boko Haram has targeted Nigerian Christians in the past.

Last Christmas, at least four bomb blasts killed 39 people, including dozens at a Catholic church near Abuja.


The Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is sinful," claimed responsibility for those attacks.

The group has said it wants to establish an Islamic state in northern Nigeria and does not recognize the government or the country's constitution.

Nigeria's population of 150 million is about evenly divided between Muslims, who mostly live in the north, and Christians who dominate in the south.

Hundreds of others died last year in bombings and shootings blamed on Boko Haram.
  From voanews.com April 29, 2012