Verifying footage showing moment of Nigeria church attackpublished at 12:29 GMT
12:29 GMT
Peter Mwai and Paul Brown
BBC Verify
Image source, XImage caption,
People inside the church reacted instantly the moment gunshots were heard
We have verified video showing the moment armed men attacked a church in Nigeria yesterday evening.
Authorities say two people were killed and an unknown number abducted in the attack in western Kwara state, according to local media reports.
In the video, which appears to be a live stream, a service is going on when we hear gunshots. People inside the church panic and run to hide. Some of the worshippers are elderly women, unable to move quickly to safety.
Later we see men, some of them armed with rifles, enter the church and grab bags left on pews. Afterwards, they kick open one of the doors to where the worshippers are hiding.
Shooting continues to be heard throughout the clip, although it isn’t clear what is being fired upon. Towards the end of the video, the device being used to record rings and a man we see briefly cuts off the feed.
We have verified the location as being the Christ Apostolic Church in a town called Eruku by matching the interior of the church to previous footage filmed there that was uploaded on YouTube in June.
The killing of Christians in Nigeria has been in the headlines recently, after US president Donald Trump said the religion is facing an existential threat there and threatened to intervene.
BBC Verify has investigated the extent to which Christians and other groups have been targeted in Nigeria.
Image source, XImage caption,
The live stream captured men, some of whom were carrying guns, grabbing handbags from pews