Rabat – At least 11 worshippers were killed and dozens more injured following an attack on a mosque in Kano state, northern Nigeria. Police confirmed the rise in the death toll on Tuesday.
According to local police reports, the assailant allegedly doused the mosque with petrol and locked its doors before igniting the blaze, trapping approximately 40 worshippers inside.
A 38-year-old man, identified as Shafi’u Abubakar, has been arrested as the suspected arsonist, police reported. The suspect allegedly used petrol to ignite the fire, which engulfed the worshippers during dawn prayers at the mosque.
The preliminary probe has revealed that the motive behind the attack was a “family conflict over inheritance sharing.” Police reported that the suspect confessed his actions were driven by the dispute stating that he intended to target specific family members who were inside the mosque.
Residents reported that flames engulfed the mosque following the attack, with worshippers heard wailing as they struggled to open the locked doors. Local media stated that neighbors, upon hearing the explosion, rushed to assist those trapped inside.
The Kano Fire Service reported that they were not called immediately after the fire started, stating that they could have brought the situation under control much faster if they had been alerted sooner.
Kano Fire Service spokesman Saminu Yusuf told the BBC that they were only informed after locals had already extinguished the fire.
“In a situation like this, people are supposed to call us but we didn’t get any call from the location until after normalcy had returned,” he said.
Initial reports indicated that one worshiper had died in the attack, but the death toll later rose as more victims succumbed to their injuries while receiving treatment at the Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital in Kano.
According to police, additional victims, including children, are still receiving medical treatment.
