A total of 11 worshippers have been confirmed dead in an attack on a local mosque in Kano state by a suspected arsonist identified as Shafiu Abubakar. 

Mr Abubakar, 38, had allegedly sprayed the mosque with petrol after he locked the entrance door and set it on fire.

No less than 40 Muslim worshippers were, who were attending morning prayers were trapped in the process, the BBC reported.  

A family dispute over the sharing of inheritance at a local settlement in the Gadan village, the outskirts of Gezwa in Kano, allegedly triggered the attack.  

The arson occurred in the early hours of Wednesday. 

Locals confirmed that flames engulfed the mosque after the attack, with the worshippers wailing as they struggled to open the locked doors.

Some of the locals initially thought it was a bomb, but rescue teams, including bomb experts deployed to the scene, proved otherwise. 

The police confirmed the attack on the mosque, saying Mr Abubakar had been arrested while the injured victims are currently at the intensive care unit of the Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital. 

Umar Mamman Sanda, the Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of Zone 1 Kano, confirmed the tragic incident during his visit to the hospital. 

Mr Sanda, who was joined by a team of security personnel, including the police commissioner in Kano and the director of State Security Services (SSS), described the attack as “very unfortunate.”

“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 is presently with us and is giving out useful information,” he said.