Three people were killed on Sunday as a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a church in the Nigerian city of Jos.

Three people were killed on Sunday as a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a church in the Nigerian city of Jos.

The man drove his car towards St Finbar's Catholic church in the city before setting off a large explosion, killing himself and at least three churchgoers, emergency agency spokesman Yushau Shuaib told AFP.  

"Three confirmed dead," said Shuaib, adding that several others were in a critical condition.

It was the second suicide bomb attack on a church in the flashpoint city in two weeks, after a February 26 attack killed three people, including a toddler, as they attended a Sunday service.

Responsibility for that attack was claimed by extremist sect Boko Haram, which warned of more such assaults.