Bauchi State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria has accused military of extra judicial killings of eight people during the skirmishes that trailed a bomb blast on Sunday at the Harvest Filed Church of Christ in Yelwa area of Bauchi. About 20 people were said to have died in the suicide attack.
CAN said eight out of the 20 people that were killed were shot by soldiers deployed to maintain order in the area.
Addressing newsmen in his office at Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN) in Bauchi yesterday, the state CAN Chairman, Rev Lawi Pokti said, “Out of the 20 people that were confirmed dead, 12 died as a result of bomb blast while 8 were shot dead by the military who went to the blast site to maintain law and order, and forty five persons have been confirmed wounded out of which 25 were injured by bomb blast while 20 sustained various degrees of injuries from gun shots from the military.
“We condemned in strong terms this dastardly act and see it as evil.”
However, Bauchi State Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Ladan, denied the allegations, saying no person was killed by either soldiers or police.
“To my knowledge no soldier or policeman fired at any person while trying to maintain law and order,” he said.
