They say a church in Peri village
near Potiskum, the economic
capital of Yobe, was set on fire in
an attack late on Christmas Eve.
No group has so far said it
carried out the attack.
The Boko Haram Islamist militant
group has targeted a number of
churches in the north since
2010.
It has killed hundreds in its
campaign to impose Sharia law.
A series of bomb attacks carried
out by the group across the
country at Christmas 2011 -
including two at Christmas Day
church services - left almost 40
people dead and many more
injured.
'Savage acts of terrorism'
The head of the Network for
Justice human rights group,
Zakari Adamu, told the BBC that
the gunmen also attacked the
homes of Christians following the
attack during the midnight mass
service.
Burnt cars outside St Theresa
Catholic Church in Abuja
(December 25 2011)
Boko Haram carried out a series
of attacks on Christians this time
last year
The AFP news agency reported
that the pastor of the church - a
branch of the Evangelical Church
of West Africa (ECWA) - is among
the dead.
Military Spokesman Eli Lazarus
told the Reuters news agency
that six people were killed in the
violence, which happened when
"unknown gunmen attempted to
attack Potiskum but were
repelled by troops".
"While they were fleeing, they
attacked a church in a village," he
said.
The military say that a suspected
gunman has been detained, and
security in the area has been
stepped up to reassure residents.
They could not say how many
gunmen took part in the attack
or whether they belonged to a
particular organisation.
The violence comes on the same
day that the Pope - as part of his
Christmas Day address - prayed
for harmony in Nigeria,
lamenting what he called "savage
acts of terrorism" that frequently
target Christians.
The head of the Christian
Association of Nigeria in Yobe,
Idi Garba, told AFP that many
worshippers at ECWA "are still
missing".
"I have been informed that six
bodies have been recovered," Mr
Garba said.
He said that some worshippers
who lived near the church "fled
their homes during the attack
and it is assumed that they are
still hiding in the bush".
Correspondents says that while
Yobe's population is
overwhelmingly Muslim,
Potiskum has a significant
Christian minority. Peri is just
2km (1.24 miles) outside the city.
Boko Haram has been able to
carry out so many attacks in
Yobe because it borders Borno
state where the insurgent group
is based.
Nigeria is Africa's most populous
state and its biggest oil producer.
Most people in the south are
Christian, whereas the north has
a Muslim majority.

http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20842225

Arewastan I d greet o

God bless the dead
But Op, it happened since dec 25 na

It seems another sect have
spring up to combact,
antagonise and kill health
workers which may be part of
the notorious boko haram and
jamb or another sect with
different ideology base on the
recent incidence of polio
immunization workers.