At least five people have been killed in an attack on a church in northern Nigeria on Thursday.

Pastor Johnson Jauro told the AFP news agency that he was leading the congregation in prayers on Thursday evening when the gunmen stormed into the church and opened fire.

He said the five worshippers killed included his wife.

Although no one has claimed responsibility for the attack yet, it comes after the militant group Boko Haram warned Christians that they had three days to leave the predominantly Muslim north.

The attack on the Deeper Life Church in Gombe is another sign of the worsening situation for Christians in northern Nigeria.

Boko Haram, which wants to impose Sharia law, said it was behind the Christmas Day attacks on churches that killed at least 50 people.

The majority of fatalities occurred in Madalla, near the federal capital Abuja, where explosives were thrown at the congregation of St Theresa’s Catholic church as they left the service.

The attacks were condemned by the international community and the Pope, who described the violence as “senseless” and called upon Christians to pray.

President Goodluck Jonathan has declared a state of emergency in four states in an effort to bring the violence under control.