Den ekstreme islamistiske gruppe, Boko Haram, under mistanke efter at have dræbt opimod 1.000 siden 2009 ifølge menneskeretsvagthunden Human Rights Watch – kirkegængere mejet ned med automatiske geværer.
At least 19 people have been killed in a church in central Nigeria, as gunmen stormed the church near the city of Okene in Kogi state and fired on worshippers, BBC online reportsTuesday.
The pastor was among those killed when the assailants fired Kalashnikov assault rifles.
It is not clear who carried out the attack but militant Islamist group Boko Haram has carried out numerous raids on churches and other targets in Nigeria.
The shooting happened further south than most areas affected by Boko Haram violence.
In April, Nigeria’s security forces raided a suspected bomb-making factory in the Okene area, killing at least nine alleged Boko Haram militants.
In February, Boko Haram said it had attacked a jail in Kogi, using bombs and heavy gunfire to free 119 inmates.
But most Boko Haram attacks have been staged in the largely Muslim north of Nigeria.
The groups wants to establish Islamic law in the country, whose large Christian and animist population mainly lives in the south.
