Inside Africa – Eight dead in Nigeria church gun attack

At least eight people have been killed in a gun attack on a church in southern Nigeria, police say.

Up to 18 other worshippers were wounded in the early morning incident at the church in Ozubulu near the city of Onitsha.

There were conflicting reports over whether the attack was carried out by a lone gunman or a group of attackers.

Police said the shooting was the result of an argument between Nigerians from Ozubulu who were living abroad.

One of the Nigerian expatriates had built the St Philip’s Catholic Church, Anambra State Police Commissioner Garba Umar said in a statement.

The attack had been carried out by someone from the local community, he added.

The attacker burst into the church during Sunday Mass and initially targeted at least one specific person before opening fire on others, reports said.

Witness Chukwuma Emeka told AFP news agency he had just stepped out of the church to stretch his legs “when I heard gunshots and screaming and people running inside.”

“When the chaos subsided I went inside, I saw my fellow church members dead in a pool of their own blood and many others were screaming in pain.”