In northern Nigeria’s Kano state, at least 24 worshippers,four of them children were hurt early on Wednesday morning when a man stormed the mosque where they were praying, setting off an explosion, according to the police.
The suspect, a 38-year-old local, admitted to attacking the mosque “purely out of hostility following prolonged (a) family disagreement,” according to a statement released by police spokesman Abdullahi Haruna.
The incident created fear in Kano, the largest state in northern Nigeria, where there has been sporadic religious discontent over the years, occasionally leading to violence.
Haruna stated that although a thorough investigation was still in progress, preliminary forensic research pointed to a petrol explosion.
The police have also cordoned off the scene while the injured were rushed to a hospital in the state capital.
According to local reports the worshippers were locked inside the mosque, making it difficult to escape the explosion.
It is said the suspect had attacked people in the area in the past over the same family dispute.
“The disagreement (was) 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,” the police statement said.
