At Least 24 people, Including Children, are Injured in a Mosque Attack in Northern Nigeria

In northern Nigeria’s Kano state, at least 24 worshippers—four of them children—were hurt early on Wednesday morning when a man attacked 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 unrest over the years, occasionally leading to violence.

Haruna stated that although a thorough investigation was still in progress, preliminary forensic analysis revealed a petrol explosion.

While the injured were being transported to a hospital in the state capital, the police also set up a cordon around the area.

It was difficult for the worshippers to flee the explosion because they were locked inside the mosque, according to the Daily Trust newspaper. According to the report, the suspect had previously attacked locals due to a similar 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 statement from the police stated.