A Kano Upper Sharia Court has sentenced Shafiu Abubakar to death by hanging for setting fire to a mosque during early morning prayers, an act that resulted in the deaths of 23 people and left several others severely injured.
The tragic incident occurred on May 15, 2024, in Gadan Larabar Abasawa village, located in the Gezawa Local Government Area of Kano State. Abubakar was convicted of four serious offences: culpable homicide, attempted homicide, causing grievous bodily harm, and mischief by fire—violations of Sections 143, 148, and 370 of the Kano State Shari’a Penal Code (2000).
Prosecutors told the court that 11 worshippers died at the scene, while 12 others later succumbed to their injuries at the Murtala Muhammed Specialist Hospital.
Presiding Judge Halhatu Huza’i Zakariyya ruled that the prosecution had proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt. The court accepted Abubakar’s confessional statement and cited corroborating eyewitness accounts and physical evidence, including burn injuries on his hands.
“This court finds the defendant guilty of the heinous crimes committed on that tragic day. The deliberate act of setting a place of worship ablaze during prayers is a cruel and calculated attack on humanity,” the judge stated.
In addition to the death sentence, the court ordered that Abubakar receive 150 strokes of the cane, 100 for mischief by fire and 50 for causing grievous harm. He was also fined N1,500. Furthermore, his tricycle is to be sold, with the proceeds directed toward the reconstruction of the damaged mosque.
During the trial, the prosecution called seven witnesses, including the Village Head of Gadan, Abdulaziz Yahya, and ASP Abdullahi Sajoh Adamawa from the Gezawa Divisional Police Headquarters.
Following the attack, the Kano State Government allocated N151.9 million for the rebuilding of the mosque and an adjacent Islamiyya school. Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, who visited the injured victims in the hospital, condemned the attack and assured the public of the government’s commitment to justice.
“This is a deeply tragic event rooted in a personal dispute, not in terrorism or politics. The government will ensure the affected community is supported and that such an atrocity never happens again,” the governor said.
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