Gunmen killed at least 14 people in north-east Nigeria in coordinated attacks on Christians returning from church services on New Year’s eve.
The Nigeria Independent reported that the militants operated at two different locations within Nigeria’s Rivers State, the Kirigani and Oboh axis of Aligu and in Omuku town.
“Fourteen persons died on the spot, while 12 who sustained gunshot wounds were rushed to the hospital and are receiving medical attention,” an anonymous police source told Agence France-Presse.
Local reports linked the incident to growing tensions between rival gangs. A leader of militant group, Boko Haram, has since released a video claiming the group carried out the attacks over the Christmas period, the Guardian reports.
“We carried out all these attacks,” said Abubakar Shekau, the head of one of Boko Haram’s three factions in the video.
In direct contrast to Nigerian president Mohammadu Buhari’s announcement on 1 January that the country had “beaten Boko Haram”, Shekau added that the group were active and in “good health”.
PICTURE: Weapons seized from Boko Haram in 2015 ©CNS
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