A church gathering in northeastern Nigeria turned deadly Jan. 5, as gunmen attacked Deeper Life Church in the country’s Gombe State, killing six and wounding several others. Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW)–a Christian advocacy group with workers in Nigeria–reported on the raid and said the dead included the pastor’s wife. The attack came one day after a Nigerian terrorist group’s deadline for Christians expired: A purported spokesman for Boko Haram–an Islamic extremist group responsible for widespread attacks in Nigeria–had demanded on Monday that Christians living in the predominantly Muslim north leave the region by Wednesday. On Wednesday evening, CSW reported that suspected Boko Haram gunmen attacked a Christian compound in the northern Yobe State, killing two.

The ultimatum came one week after Boko Haram claimed responsibility for a series of Christmas Day attacks in Nigeria that killed at least 41 people. The deadliest bombing at St Theresa’s Catholic Church in Madalla killed at least 37 parishioners who were leaving a Christmas Day Mass at the packed church. (WNS)