Lagos, Nigeria - Gunmen on Thursday evening stormed a church in Nigeria's northern Gombe state, killing six church members, including the Pastor's wife, and injuring 10, the local press reported Friday. According to the private Leadership newspaper, the attack was carried out on the Deeper Life Church in Gombe, the state capital, Thursday evening. The paper quoted the church Pastor, Johnson Jauro, as saying his wife was among those killed.

Though the state police command confirmed the attack, it did not give casualty figures.

The attack, for which no group has yet claimed responsibility, followed a series of coordinated attacks against churches that left a total of 49 people dead on Christmas Day.

At least 44 of the number were killed in the bombing of the St. Theresa's Catholic Church in Madalla, near the capital city of Abuja.

The Islamic sect Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the attacks and later issued an ultimatum to southerners, who are mostly Christians, to vacate the predominantly-Muslim north or face more attacks.

The Nigerian government urged southerners to disregard the ultimatum, which has since expired.

The umbrella Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has asked its members to take all necessary measures to defend themselves against further attacks, triggering fears of a sectarian war in Africa's most populous nation.

In a related development, gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram members attacked a family at the Dala Ward in Maiduguri, capital of northern Borno state, killing an 80-year-old father, Mr. Musa Durkuwa, and his son, Usman Musa Durkuwa.

Leadership newspaper quoted eyewitness as saying that the incident occurred at about 8.30pm local time on Thursday, when two gunmen, driving in an unmarked car, apparently trailed the retired civil servant to his family house and shot him dead alongside his son.

Although the late Durkuwa’s wife, Mrs. Hannatu Musa, survived the attack, she was shot in the leg and hand and was responding to treatment at an undisclosed hospital.

The attacks are taking place despite the imposition of a State of Emergency on certain parts of the north to curtail the Boko Haram violence.

Pana 06/01/2012