Gunmen attack Kogi church, kill 19 worshippers

Gunmen last night attacked the Deeper Christian Life Bible Church at Otite, in Adavi Local Government of Kogi State,Nigeria, killing 19 worshippers, while several others were injured. Eyewitnesses said that about 10 gunmen stormed the church, located opposite the Federal College of Education, Okene, with sophisticated weapons. It was gathered that the gunmen arrived the church in a Toyota Liteace bus and that on reaching the church premises, started shooting everyone on sight. The pastor was among those killed when the assailants fired Kalashnikov assault rifles, the officials add. The attack took the worshippers who were attending evening service by surprise, even as all exit points were blocked by the terrorists to prevent any escape. An eyewitness confirmed that 19 dead bodies had so far been recovered from the scene of the massacre, while nine others who were seriously injured had also been rushed to the hospital. “As I am calling you now, we have just counted 16 dead bodies while nine people have been rushed to the General Hospital, Okene,” the source said. The state Police spoksman Mr. Simon Ile, confirmed the incident, adding that the information at his disposal was still very sketchy. He said the command was still awaiting further report from the Divisional Police Officer, DPO, in charge of the area, adding that the command would go after the perpetrators of the dastardly act and bring them to justice. It could not be immediately ascertained how many worshippers were in the church as at the time of the unfortunate incident. It will be recalled that some suicide bombers had attempted to attack the Living Faith Church on Lagos Road, in Okene LGA last month before they were prevented by the heavy presence of security operatives. Governor Idris Wada yesterday summoned an emergency meeting of the state executive council over the attack. Furious about news of the unfortunate situation, Wada vowed that he would spare no resources in smoking terrorists out of Kogi State. According to him, the perpetrators of the heinous crime are wicked, devilish, ungodly and deserve no place in a sane society. Kogi State, he said, has always been known for peace and any act capable of tarnishing the image of the state will not be tolerated at all. Culled from BBC and DAILY TIMES