Six people have been killed and a church identified as the EYN (Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa Nigeria) also known as Church of the Brethren in Nigeria in Pemi, a ward under Chibok local government area of Borno state has been burnt down by suspected Boko Haram members.
WITHIN NIGERIA learnt that the insurgents attacked on Thursday — on Christmas eve when most of the villagers were preparing for the celebrations.
According to TheCable report, atleast 6 cars and five other houses of the church were burnt.
“The insurgents came in around 5:30 pm through Gogombi,” one of the villagers said.
“They came in batches of two. The first came in with a motorcycle while the other came in heavy vehicles. As soon as they entered the village, they started shooting sporadically and towards the EYN church.
“Then they set it on fire. They also torched six cars and five other buildings around the church. Some of us ran to the bush, but unfortunately six people were killed in the attack. Christians were to observe Christmas prayers in the church this morning.”
It was also learnt that the military arrived at the scene hours after the insurgents had left.
“Soldiers from 117 task force battalion in Chibok were mobilised, but they got here around 8pm, probably because of the distance as Pemi is about 17 kilometres away from Chibok,” another source said.
He added that things are now under control as the military is putting in effort to secure the Chibok general area.
Sagir Musa, spokesperson of the Nigerian army, did not immediately respond to a message seeking an update on the attack.
On Tuesday, the Department of State Services (DSS) raised the alarm over the “plot to bomb some places” during Yuletide.