At least one explosion ripped through a church in a military barracks in northern Nigeria on Sunday, the army said, with reports that a number of people had been wounded.

"There was a blast today in a church inside the military barracks in Jaji (in Kaduna state). It happened after the church service," a military spokesman Colonel Sani Usman told AFP.

The state-run National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said "rescuers have been alerted to an explosion at a military formation in Kaduna state today and likely at a worship centre."

A military officer who did not want to be named said the Protestant church was hit by two explosions.

"The first blast caused no casualties and curious worshippers gathered around the scene looking at the debris... and that was when the second blast happened," he said. "Many people were injured but I have not received report of any deaths at the moment."

Jaji is some 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the state capital Kaduna city which has been hit in the past by deadly attacks blamed on the Islamist group Boko Haram, which has often targeted churches in its bloody insurgency.