At least 12 people were confirmed dead after a bomb went off at a church near Abuja on Sunday during a Christmas service, according to emergency officials.
Among the dead were at least three policemen. Scores were injured, many severely, and the death toll is expected to rise, the officials say.
A person purporting to be a spokesman for the militant Islamist group Boko Haram claimed the bombing, according to local media, but the report could not immediately be independently verified, DPA reported.