Violence erupts in northern Nigeria after gunmen kill two churchgoers

Violence erupts in northern Nigeria after gunmen kill two churchgoers

2011-11-05 08:35:44 GMT+7 (ICT)

ZONKWA, NIGERIA (BNO NEWS) -- Riots broke out in northern Nigeria on Friday after unidentified gunmen attacked a church the night before, leaving two people dead, media reports said. Meanwhile, several bombs exploded in the country's northeast.

The riots broke out in the town of Zonkwa in Kaduna state after residents came out to protest the attack on the church. In April, hundreds of people were killed in the same town during post-election violence following the declaration of Goodluck Jonathan as the winner of the presidential elections.

Kaduna State Police Command spokesperson Aminu Lawal said the clashes are likely the result of Thursday evening's attack on a church in Tabak, a village in the same state. Lawal added that two people were killed during the attack while 12 others were injured, the Daily Times of Nigeria reported.

Following the clashes, three bombs exploded in Borno State in the country's northeast, although it was not clear if the incidents were linked to the events in Kaduna state. Borno state police commissioner Simeon Midenda confirmed that one of the bombs detonated close to an Islamic college in Maiduguri while parents were picking up their children, local media said.

It was not immediately known how many people had been killed as a result of the clashes and bomb attacks on Friday. It was also unknown who was behind the attacks, although many attacks are usually blamed on the Boko Haram Islamist militant group.

The Boko Haram Islamist militant group, which operates in the area, has claimed most of the explosions and attacks in recent years. The group has been blamed by Nigerian officials for most of the region's terrorist attacks and seeks the imposition of an extremist stance of the Shariah law, which is a Muslim code of conduct.

The group's name, 'Boko Haram' in the local language of Hausa, roughly translates as 'Western religion is sacrilegious' or 'non-Islamic religion is a sin.' A series of clashes has plagued the northern state of Kaduna in recent months and attacks occur frequently.

In April, more than 200 people were killed when rioters burned churches, mosques, homes and shops in Kaduna. The violence broke out following the presidential elections during which Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian southerner, defeated Muslim northerner Muhammadu Buhari. The opposition claimed the vote was rigged.

However, international monitors said the elections, during which tens of millions of people cast their votes, could be Nigeria's first credible vote in decades. Voting was reported to have generally gone smoothly, despite some reports of fraud and incidents of violence, including two bomb explosions in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri.

Nigeria has a history of violent and deeply flawed elections. Observers from the European Union described the 2007 elections as among the worst they had witnessed anywhere in the world. At least 300 people were killed, and many others injured, in violence linked to the elections.

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