Masusuuka, Ja’afar, Albani Killings: Northern Leaders Must Break The Normalization Of Violence-PeacePro

The Foundation for Peace Professionals (PeacePro) has called on political, religious and traditional leaders across Northern Nigeria to confront what it describes as the dangerous normalisation of violence against religious scholars over interpretation differences, warning that repeated killings without conclusive investigations and visible accountability risk deepening public fear and emboldening radicals. 

The call follows the killing of an Islamic scholar, Sheikh Yahaya Ibrahim Masussuka and his associate, Adamu Abubakar, in Dutsin-Ma Local Government, Katsina State on the evening of Monday, October 26, 2026.

PeacePro said the killing has revived painful memories of earlier attacks on prominent Islamic scholars, including Sheikh Ja’afar Mahmud Adam, who was shot dead while leading dawn prayers in Kano in April 2007, and Sheikh Muhammad Auwal Albani Zaria, who was killed in an attack in Zaria in February 2014 alongside members of his family.

PeacePro said the concerns surrounding attacks on religious figures reinforce the need for credible investigations, evidence based findings and accountability.

The Executive Director of PeacePro, Mr Abdulrazaq Hamzat in a statement he issued in Abuja and made available to Team@orientactualmags.com  said condemnations by public officials and community leaders are important but insufficient without concrete action to prevent further killings.

‘Northern Nigeria cannot afford a situation in which the killing of a religious scholar generates public outrage for a few days, followed by silence, uncertainty and the gradual acceptance of violence as normal’ Hamzat said.

He also noted that the central concern is not merely the loss of individual lives, but also the wider consequences when people who teach, preach, challenge prevailing views or advocate peaceful coexistence fear that disagreement could expose them to lethal violence.

‘When people begin to believe that a person can be killed for what he teaches, what he believes or the position he takes in a religious debate, the damage goes beyond the victim and his family. It threatens freedom of conscience, peaceful religious engagement and the ability of communities to resolve disagreements without violence’ he said.

PeacePro called on governors, traditional rulers, Islamic scholars, Christian leaders, community organisations and civil society groups across the North to build a coordinated response that will address both violent incidents and the social conditions that allow violence to be justified, celebrated or tolerated.

According to Hamzat, such a response must go beyond issuing statements after killings.

It should include the protection of threatened religious figures, credible public communication, early-warning mechanisms, cooperation with security agencies and sustained engagement to challenge the ideological justification of murder.

‘No individual or group should have the power to decide that another person has forfeited the right to live because of a theological disagreement, an unpopular interpretation or a commitment to peaceful coexistence’ Hamzat said.

PeacePro urged the police and other relevant security agencies to pursue the Masussuka case with urgency, preserve and examine available evidence, investigate credible leads and provide timely public updates without compromising the investigation.

PeacePro further called for a review of the circumstances in which religious scholars and other public figures face threats, particularly where credible warnings may have been issued before an attack.

 ‘A society cannot defeat extremism merely by condemning its consequences. It must also challenge the normalization of violence, protect those who reject it and ensure that people who commit murder are pursued through the law, regardless of their identity or claimed justification’ he added.

PeacePro expressed its condolences to the families, followers and communities affected by the killings while urging a sustained collective commitment to ensuring that religious disagreement, ideological intolerance and violent extremism do not become accepted features of public life in Northern Nigeria-Team@orientactualmags.com  Do you have any information you wish to share with us? Do you want us to cover your event or programme? Kindly send SMS to 08035023079,  08059100286, 09094171980 or get in touch via orientactualmag@gmail.com.  Thank you