Following an early morning incident where a mosque in which about 40 persons were performing the early morning prayer was set ablaze by a man, the perpetrator has willingly submitted himself to the police.
The police have confirmed that 24 persons have received different degrees of burns resulting from the incident in which Shafi’u Abubakar, 38 years of age, used petrol to set the mosque ablaze after trapping the worshipers in the mosque Wednesday morning at Laraba Abasawa, Gezawa local government area of Kano state.
The victims who were later rescued by some people were rushed to the Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital in Kano where they are receiving treatment.
Abubakar told the police that he set the mosque on fire out of provocation to attack those who cheated him while sharing family inheritance who were all present in the mosque at the time.
This information is contained in a statement issued to newsmen in Kano by the police spokesperson SP Haruna Kiyawa Wednesday morning.
“The principal suspect has been identified and arrested, he is Shafi’u Abubakar aged 38 years who said his action was purely in hostility following prolong family disagreement over sharing of inheritance of which those that he alleged to have cheated on him were in the mosque at that moment and he did that for his voice to be heard.
“While the suspect is currently in police custody, detailed investigation is ongoing and will be made public in due course” the statement says.
The attack occurred while worshippers were observing the early morning prayer, which resulted in harming several members of the community.
Abubakar used petrol to ignite the fire, trapping approximately 40 worshippers inside the mosque. He then locked the mosque, worsening the situation and stopping them from escaping.
A member of the community, who pleaded not to be mentioned said it took some time for people outside to become aware of the incident and rescue those trapped inside.
Eventually, some good samaritans managed to break open the mosque’s doors and rescue the worshippers.
Those who sustained serious injuries in the attack were rushed to the Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital in Kano for medical treatment.