KANO, Nigeria — Three worshippers were shot dead and several others injured during a night-time attack on a church in Kano, northern Nigeria, in what survivors say was a targeted assault linked to rising religious tensions in the region.
The incident occurred during a Thursday night vigil in early February at New Life for All Nation Church, located in Masu community, Sumaila Local Government Area of Kano State.
Eyewitness accounts indicate that armed men believed to be jihadists stormed the building while the congregation was deep in prayer.
“I was in the night vigil on a Thursday night when the jihadist invaded our church,” a survivor, who asked not to be named for security reasons, told The Trent on Thursday, February 16, 2023.
“They came and started shooting. Church members were running helter-skelter and three of our church members were eventually shot dead.”
The survivor, Ebegbulem Chuks, who served as the head of youth evangelism at the church, said he sustained a serious injury but managed to escape. “Unknown to me, I was one of their targets that night,” Chuks added.
“I heard them shouting my name and the names of other two prominent members of our church.”
Kano, a majority-Muslim state in Nigeria’s north, has experienced periodic outbursts of sectarian violence in recent years. Tensions have escalated particularly in communities where local Muslims have expressed discomfort over religious conversions.
The survivor said religious intolerance had intensified in the state following a wave of Pentecostal conversions, often resulting in attacks on Christians and church facilities.
Security authorities in Kano have not publicly commented on the incident, and it remains unclear whether any arrests have been made.
The survivor described a growing pattern of hostility that preceded the attack.
“Few years after I became a Pentecostal Christian, Kano started to experience religious conflicts,” he said.
“The Muslims were not feeling comfortable that some of their youths were being converted to Christianity. They resulted to fighting and attacking Christians and they carried out attacks on churches.”
He said Christian communities had been forced into secrecy, resorting to private gatherings in fear of public backlash.
Nigeria’s constitution guarantees freedom of religion.
However, rights groups have warned of growing pressure on religious minorities in some northern states, where Christian converts often face threats, harassment, and in some cases, violence.
WARNING: Click HERE to see GRAPHIC IMAGE of the injury of the youth evangelism leader who escaped.
This latest attack has deepened fears among local Christians about the ability of the state to protect them from religiously motivated violence.
As of press time, the identities of the three victims had not been publicly disclosed.
Pastor Shuaibu Yohanna, the leader of New Life for All Nation Church, has called on authorities to act swiftly in bringing the attackers to justice.
Church leaders have urged security agencies to investigate the killings and ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice.
Reporting contributed by local correspondents in Kano.
