Zaria Central Mosque, Kaduna, on Friday evening collapsed, killing at least four worshippers, while several others sustained injuries.
The victims were observing the Asr (evening) prayer around 4 when the incident occurred.
Confirming the incident, the Emir of Zazzau, Mallam Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli, said subsequent prayers would be held outside the mosque until further notice.
The Emir directed that the funeral prayer for all the corpses be held at 8.30pm at his palace.
According to the Emir, “We had earlier observed a crack on the wall of the mosque yesterday, and were planning to deploy a team of civil engineers to effect repairs when this unfortunate incident happened.”
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Tajudeen Abbas expressed sadness over the incident. The Speaker who represents Zaria Federal Constituency in a tweet yesterday regretted that people who went to worship lost their lives in that manner..
His words: My heart bleeds over the unfortunate incident that happened at the Zaria Central Mosque today during the Asr prayer, when parts of the mosque collapsed, leading to the death of some of my constituents. It is disheartening that people who went to worship Allah lost their lives in that manner.
“I pray that Allah (SWT) will grant them eternal rest and reward them with Jannatul Firdaus. My thoughts and prayers are with their families and those that sustained injuries during the incident. I also sympathize with the Emir of Zazzau, His Royal Highness, Amb. Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli, my constituents – the people of Zaria – and indeed the entire people of Kaduna State as well as the Kaduna State Government over the unfortunate incident.”