Africa News

Churches in northern Nigeria start security checks

Jun 30, 2011, 11:22 GMT

Nairobi/Kaduna - Churches in predominantly-Muslim northern Nigeria have begun to install metal detectors amid the threat of bomb attacks, reports said Thursday.

The newspaper Next said worshippers in the Christian churches were also having their handbags searched for fear of explosives being smuggled in.

The measures come after a series of bombing attacks against churches in the region attributed to the radical Islamic group Boko Haram. Last Christmas Eve, more than 80 people were killed in various attacks.

The group, which killed 25 people last weekend in attacks on several beer gardens in the city of Maiduguri, is threatening further attacks.

'Everybody is now scared of the Boko Haram because of their system of operation,' a security agent carrying out checks at a Catholic church in Kaduna said.

'And nobody can say when they will attack. Therefore, what we can only do is to put some security mesures in place to ensure that nobody comes into the church with dangerous weapons.'

The churches in the north are not the only places were heightened security is being put in place. In the capital Abuja, a 10 pm curfew was imposed on Wednesday for cinemas, restaurants, night clubs and taverns.