Boko Haram suspected in attacks that killed 76 in 2 Nigerian states

Attacks by suspected Boko Haram militants killed 76 people in Nigeria, including 22 in a church, police said. The attack on the church Sunday followed violence in Borno state in which 50 gunmen attacked the villages of Kauwuri and Wala, killing 54 residents, the Nigerian publication the Guardian reported Monday. The violence occurred just days before President Goodluck Jonathan's one-day visit to Adamawa to commission several Nigerian Air Force projects in the state. A survivor of the church attack, James Audu, told the Guardian the suspected members of Boko Haram stormed a Catholic church in Waga Chakawa during mass, using explosives and other weapons. "They used explosives during the attack on worshippers and many people lost their lives," Audu said. Wala resident Yunana Tada said the attackers used improvised explosive devices and gas bombs in four vehicles, setting the entire village on fire as livestock and grains were removed, the Guardian said. "Many of us had to flee for our lives, because we don't know the motives of these gunmen, who kill without any genuine cause," Tada told the Guardian. Borno State Police Commissioner Tanko Lawal said the attackers set the entire village on fire, burning about 300 houses after attacking the village market and killing vendors and residents trying to flee. Wala was attacked Friday and Kauwuri was assaulted Sunday, the newspaper said. The Guardian said five other communities had been attacked so far in January, resulting in at least 49 deaths.