The terrorist group Ansaru has published a second video defending its killing of Yahaya Masussuka, a controversial Islamic cleric shot dead by bandits on 26 October outside his home in Dutsin-Ma, Katsina State.
As reported by Premium Times, the video, dated 22 Jumada Awwal, corresponding to 2 November, runs for nine minutes. It shows a masked man in military camouflage seated in a bushy area, reading from an Android tablet.
Ansaru's Theological Justification
The speaker presented the killing as part of what he called a long-standing religious struggle against those who undermine Islam and the Prophet Muhammad. He cited at least three historical episodes from Islamic tradition to frame the assassination as religiously sanctioned.
Among them was the execution of Ka'b al-Ashraf, a Jewish poet from Medina who, according to Islamic historical accounts, composed offensive verses targeting Muslim women and urged the Quraysh of Mecca to fight the Prophet. The speaker also quoted a verse attributed to the Islamic scholar Ibn Qayyim, which he said celebrated a comparable historical killing.
The group's representative drew comparisons between its actions and incidents of mob violence against people accused of blasphemy in northern Nigeria, arguing there was no meaningful difference between those episodes and the killing of Mr Masussuka.
Background to the Killing
Ansaru said it acted because the Nigerian government had failed to hold those who disparage the Prophet accountable, and the group declared it would not rely on what it described as an apostate state to defend Islam.
Masussuka had long been a polarising figure in Islamic circles in northern Nigeria. He was widely associated with a Quran-only theological approach, with many linking him to the "Quraniyun" sect. He also frequently preached interfaith harmony, a position Ansaru cited as evidence of apostasy. In the new video, the group labelled him a member of the "Kala-kato or Quraniyun" sect.
Hours after the 26 October attack, Ansaru released a still image online claiming responsibility and accusing Mr Masussuka of disputing the hadiths of the Prophet and promoting interfaith harmony.
Reactions and Investigation
Many of Mr Masussuka's supporters rejected Ansaru's claim and instead accused the Izala movement, a Sunni Islamic organisation whose members had theological disagreements with the cleric. The Izala movement publicly condemned the killing and denied any role in it.
Meanwhile, the wife of Sheikh Masussuka described the moments before gunmen shot her husband, as reported by Legit.ng. Ansaru, the Al-Qaeda-linked terror group, claimed responsibility for the killing in an audio message released on Tuesday, October 27.
Katsina State police said it had not yet confirmed Ansaru's claim and was still investigating the attack.
