Twenty-four worshippers suffered various degrees of burns yesterday when a man set ablaze a mosque where they were gathered to pray.
About 40 persons were in the mosque for the early morning prayer when the arsonist struck.
After carrying out his nefarious act, the man identified as Shafi’u Abubakar, 38, willingly submitted himself to the police.
The police confirmed yesterday that 24 persons sustained different degrees of burns from the incident when Abubakar used petrol to set the mosque ablaze after trapping the worshipers in the facility at Laraba Abasawa, Gezawa local government area of Kano State.
The victims were later rescued by other residents and rushed to the Murtala Mohammed Specialist Hospital in Kano where they are currently receiving treatment.
Abubakar told the police that he set the mosque on fire out of provocation to attack those who cheated him while sharing the 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 Haruna Kiyawa, yesterday.
“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 a prolonged family disagreement over the 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, a detailed investigation is ongoing and will be made public in due course,” the statement said.
A resident 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 rescued the worshippers.
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