In a post on X, Kaduna Central senatorial candidate for the All Progressives Congress, Senator Shehu Sani, highlighted the common characteristics of Islamic clerics who have been murdered in Northern Nigeria over the past fifteen years. His remarks came after the fatal shooting of Katsina‑based cleric Sheikh Yahaya Masussuka on Monday, October 26.
Sani said the slain clerics shared three traits that “undoubtedly led to their elimination”: speaking out against extremism, advocating inter‑religious tolerance and peace, and naming terror leaders or groups in their sermons. “All the prominent clerics that have been assassinated in the North in the last fifteen years have three common factors that undoubtedly led to their elimination; speaking out against extremism, advocating for inter religious tolerance and peace and mentioning the name of terror leaders or groups by their name in their sermons,” he wrote.
He recalled his own experience in 2011, when he and former President Olusegun Obasanjo travelled to Maiduguri to initiate a dialogue for peace. “In 2011, Ex President Obasanjo and myself privately went to Maiduguri to initiate a dialogue for peace, after the event we headed back to Abuja; the next day, the man who facilitated the dialogue was eliminated, and we received threats. The terrorists want silence or they will silence,” the socio‑political commentator added.
Sheikh Masussuka, known for preaching against violent extremism, was shot at about 7:30 pm in front of his residence in Dutsin‑Ma, Katsina State. According to the Katsina State Police Command, two armed men on a motorcycle opened fire, killing Masussuka and his friend, Adamu Abubakar. Both were pronounced dead at the hospital.
Governor Dikko Radda, Amnesty International and other organisations condemned the killing and called for a thorough investigation into the incident.
Senator Sani’s post, titled “Masussuka: Shehu Sani identifies three traits among slain clerics in Northern Nigeria,” first appeared on The Sun Nigeria.
<small>Source: The Sun Nigeria — read the original story there.</small>
