The household of late Islamic cleric Sheikh Yahaya Ibrahim Masussuka has rejected claims by the Ansaru militant group that it was answerable for his killing in Katsina State, insisting that people who had beforehand threatened the preacher stays their prime suspects.
Abdurrashid Abdulkarim, successor to the late Sheikh Yahaya Ibrahim Masussuka, spoke on behalf of the household in a video shared on the deceased cleric’s social media web page.
Seated on the identical chair on which Sheikh Masussuka recurrently occupied, Abdulkarim rejected Ansaru’s declare of duty for the killing and questioned the authenticity of the assertion attributed to the group.
“We reject the claim that Ansaru was responsible for the killing of Sheikh Masussuka. There are people who threatened him before his death, and we still suspect them,” Abdurrashid mentioned.
He additionally challenged safety professional, Dr Audu Bulama Bukarti, who publicised the alleged audio message wherein Ansaru claimed duty for the killing, to elucidate how he obtained the recording.
“We challenge Dr Audu Bulama Bukarti to explain where he got the audio message and how it came into his possession,” he mentioned.
Abdurrashid additional alleged that the message attributed to Ansaru contained inconsistencies, together with an error within the date of the incident.
“There are discrepancies in the statement circulated by Bukarti. The person speaking on behalf of Ansaru claimed that the incident happened on Tuesday, whereas the killing took place on Monday,” he mentioned.
The household maintained that the alleged declare of duty mustn’t distract investigators from inspecting the threats reportedly made towards the cleric earlier than his loss of life.
“We are calling on Dr Audu Bulama Bukarti to withdraw from this matter and allow security agencies to do their work,” Abdurrashid mentioned.
He urged the related authorities to research the killing completely and set up the identities of these accountable.
Sheikh Masussuka and his affiliate, Adamu Abubakar, have been reportedly shot useless by gunmen outdoors the cleric’s residence in Dutsin-Ma Local Government Area of Katsina State on Monday, October 26, 2026.
