An explosion has hit a church near the Nigerian capital Abuja on Christmas morning, an emergency official said, adding that there were casualties, but he could not immediately provide a figure.

"Explosion in St Theresa Church close to Abuja," said Yushau Shuaib, a spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency of the blast in the Madalla area.

"There are casualties, but we can't talk about figures for now," he added.

People were inside the church at the time of the blast, but Shuaib could not say how many.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Felix Onuah, a Nigerian journalist said emergency workers are working to evacuate the scared and the injured from the area where a Christmas day procession and service were being held.

The emergency agency says it does not have enough ambulances available to evacuate the dead and the wounded, according to Reuters






http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2011/12/2011122581347745807.html