Ansaru Militants Claim Killing of Muslim Cleric Who Preached Peace With Christians

Ansaru militants have claimed responsibility for shooting dead a Muslim cleric known for promoting peaceful coexistence between Christians and Muslims in northern Nigeria. Sheikh Yahaya Ibrahim Masussuka, 47, and his friend Adamu Abubakar were killed on Monday evening, October 26, 2026, outside the cleric's home in Dutsin-Ma Local Government Area of Katsina State.

Two gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire on the two men and fled, leaving both dead in the street. The Katsina State police confirmed the killing.

The next day, Ansaru claimed responsibility in an audio message, accusing Masussuka of being an infidel and opposing Islam. A week later, on November 2, the group released a new video of about nine minutes defending the killing, with a masked speaker reading its justification from an electronic device.

Sheikh Yahaya Masussuka killed Ansaru peace Christians

Masussuka was not a man who hid his views. He was an Islamic preacher, educator and peace advocate who shared Islamic teachings in Hausa on social media, the language spoken across northern Nigeria. In some of his videos, he called on Muslims to stop describing Christians as infidels and urged followers of both religions to live together peacefully.

He owned a Qur'anic television station, a radio station and a school. In May 2025, the Network for Good Governance and Transparency recognised him as a peacemaker for his work promoting interfaith dialogue.

He was preparing to organise a major peace conference, scheduled for October 31, 2026, to revive peaceful coexistence between Muslims and Christians, built on compassion, mercy and mutual respect. He was killed five days before it was due to take place.

Ansaru's claim is that Masussuka's teachings were heresy. The group, formally known as Jama'atu Ansarul Muslimina Fi Biladis Sudan, accused him of rejecting Islamic teachings and challenging its interpretation of the Hadiths, the accounts of the sayings and actions of the Prophet Muhammad. It also threatened others who hold similar views, warning them to abandon their positions or face attacks.

Ansaru claims killing Katsina cleric family questions claim

But the claim itself is contested. Masussuka's family has questioned the authenticity of the audio recording, and his successor, Abdurrashid Abdulkarim, spoke on the family's behalf to challenge it.

Investigators must still establish who ordered and carried out the shooting, and whether Ansaru's claim is credible. No arrests have been reported, and no further investigative findings have been made public.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu condemned the murders on Tuesday, October 27, in a statement issued through his special adviser on information and strategy, Bayo Onanuga. Amnesty International also condemned the assassination and called for an effective, thorough and impartial investigation, urging the authorities to bring anyone suspected of involvement to justice through a fair legal process.

Ansaru emerged as a breakaway faction of Boko Haram around 2012 and is affiliated with al-Qaeda. Two of its commanders, Mahmud Usman, also known as Abu Bara'a, and Mahmud al-Nigeri, also known as Malam Mamuda, were recently sentenced to life imprisonment by a Federal High Court in Abuja for terrorism-related offences. The group has been linked to attacks across parts of northern Nigeria, and its message to moderate voices is now unmistakable.

Dutsin-Ma Katsina cleric murdered peace conference

The killing lands in a country where religious voices are already under fire from every side. Christians in the north live with the same threat of sudden violence, as the bloodshed across the region this year shows, as reported in Christians Killed in Nigeria Today: 7,500 Deaths Reported Across Africa in 2026. Only this week, two Christians were killed and 18 people seized in a raid in Kaduna, as reported in Two Christians Killed, 18 Seized in Kaduna Raid Today.

And the violence has not paused. Suspected Muslim gunmen killed at least six people, including a Nigerian soldier, in separate attacks on communities in Plateau State on Sunday night, November 8, with no arrests made, according to a report published November 10. Northern Christian leaders have already demanded an end to the killings, as reported in Northern Christian Leaders Demand End to Killings in Nigeria, and a Christian Red Cross worker was killed in an ambush in Sokoto, as reported in Christian Red Cross Worker Lydia Nwankwo Killed in Nigeria Ambush in Sokoto.

Masussuka's death is different from those killings in one terrible way. He was not killed in spite of his faith. He was killed because of what his faith led him to say: that Christians are not infidels, that Muslims and Christians can live side by side, and that peace is worth organising a conference for.

The extremists who claim his murder understood exactly what he stood for, and that is why they came for him.

His associate has said the peace gathering scheduled for October 31 will go ahead as planned. Whether it does, and who dares to stand where Masussuka stood, will tell Nigeria something it urgently needs to know: whether the voice of tolerance can survive the men who tried to silence it, or whether the next preacher of peace will recieve the same bullet.

But the most surprising part of this story is yet to come — keep reading.