THE Governor of Kano State, Abba Yusuf, has directed the prosecution of the suspected mastermind of last week’s bombing of a mosque at Gadan village, Gezawa Local Government Area of the state.
The governor said the mastermind, identified as Shafi’u Abubakar, should be prosecuted before the Shariah court.
He vowed that he would not hesitate to sign the death warrant if the court found the 38-year-old guilty and sentenced him to death.
Yusuf noted that the death toll in the last Wednesday incident had risen to 15.
According to the police, Abubakar threw a locally-made bomb at the mosque while worshippers were inside observing the early morning prayers.
Over 20 persons were hospitalised after the incident that immediately killed one person.
The governor, on Sunday evening, paid a visit to the hospitalised victims at the Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital in Kano.
He went straight to the hospital on returning to Kano from a trip to Abuja.
Speaking during the visit, Yusuf said, “Whatever the court decides, we will ensure that the victims of the Gadan village arson get justice and if it condemns him to death after finding him guilty, we will not hesitate to sign the death warrant.”
The governor noted that police investigation had established that the incident was not a terror or politically motivated attack but a family disagreement over inheritance.
Yusuf said, “For the avoidance of any doubt, the incendiarism that led to the death of 15 out of the 24 victims was neither politically motivated nor a terrorist attack on the residents of the state.”
The governor donated N100,000 to each of the victims.
The police had last Wednesday said they arrested 38-year-old Abubakar, who bombed a mosque at Gadan Village.
The police spokesman, Abdullahi Haruna, said the suspect explained that “his action was purely in hostility, following a prolonged family disagreement 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 Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of Zone 1, Umar Sanda, said, “What happened is not associated with any act of terrorism, rather it was a skirmish that arose as a result of inheritance distribution.
“The suspect was said not to be satisfied with the distribution and was reacting to that. He is presently with us and is giving out useful information.
“Out of the 24 that were admitted here, one is dead. It is really unfortunate. He used a locally-made bomb to commit the crime.”