Shafi’u Abubakar

A suspect, Shafi’u Abubakar, has been arrested by the Kano State Police Command in connection with the early morning explosion in a mosque at Gadan village in Gezawa Local Government Area of the state.

Members of the community were observing the “Subhi Prayer” on Wednesday morning, May 15, 2024, when the suspect set the mosque ablaze with petrol and locked it to prevent the worshippers from escaping.

Spokesperson of the command, SP Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, who confirmed the arrest said 24 people sustained various skin burns injuries in the suspected petrol explosion while death was recorded.

According to the PPRO, the suspect confessed to the crime, saying his action was purely in hostility following prolonged family disagreement over sharing of inheritance.

He claimed that those who cheated him out of the inheritance were in the mosque at that moment and he carried out the act to voice out his grievance.

“Today, 15/05/2024 at about 0520hrs, reports were received that, there was an explosion at a Mosque in Gadan Village, Gezawa LGA, Kano State during “Subhi Prayer” and that some people got injured,” the statement read.

“On receipt of the report, the Commissioner of Police, Kano State Command, CP Mohammed Usaini Gumel, FIPMA, psc immediately deployed the command’s combined teams consisting of experts in Explosive Ordnance Disposal Chemical Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (EOD-CBRN) led by CSP Haruna Isma’il and other Crime-Scene Policemen led by Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Gezawa Division, CSP Haruna Iliya.

“While the suspect is currently in police custody, detailed investigation is ongoing and will be made public in due course.”