Locals dispute Nigerian army claim of 31 rescued after Easter attack

Residents of a Nigerian community have disputed the army's assertion that it rescued 31 civilians held hostage following a Sunday morning church attack in the north. The army had said that it freed the civilians seized by gunmen who had raided a church in Ariko, Kaduna state, during Easter celebrations. The authorities said five civilians had been killed, but a local church official put the number of dead at seven. But the president of the Ariko community association, Joseph Ariko, told the BBC…