The Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) senatorial candidate for Kaduna North, Abdullahi Wakili, has called on President Bola Tinubu, northern governors and security agencies to take urgent measures to protect Islamic clerics amid reported killings and threats against religious leaders in the region.
Mr Wakili made the call in a statement on Thursday. He expressed concern over the killing of Islamic scholars and clerics in Kaduna, Katsina and other parts of Northern Nigeria. He said the incidents required sustained government action, thorough investigations and the prosecution of perpetrators to prevent further attacks.
According to him, the killing of Islamic clerics goes beyond the loss of individual lives, as it affects their families, students, congregations and communities that depend on them for religious guidance.
He noted the assassination of Ja’afar Mahmud Adam in Kano on April 13, 2007, and the killing of Muhammad Auwal Albani Zaria, alongside his wife and young son, on February 1, 2014.
Mr Wakili also cited the killing of Bello Abubakar, an assistant imam, in Layin Danauta, Kuyello Ward, Birnin Gwari council area of Kaduna, on January 14, 2026. He further referred to the reported killing of Yahaya Ibrahim Masussuka and his friend, Adamu Abubakar, in Dutsin-Ma council area of Katsina, on October 26.
He said the incidents underscored the need for authorities to strengthen security measures and ensure that those responsible for the killings were brought to justice. Mr Wakili noted that Islamic clerics played important roles in educating young people, guiding families, mediating disputes and promoting peaceful coexistence in their communities.
He said protecting religious leaders was therefore a matter of public safety and fundamental rights, rather than a concern limited to any particular religious group.
“No disagreement justifies murder. No individual or armed group has the right to take another person’s life because of religious differences, personal hostility, a sermon or a disagreement over the interpretation of religious teachings,” he said.
The PRP candidate urged the federal government, state governments, the Nigeria Police Force, the State Security Service, and other security agencies to prioritise protecting clerics and other community leaders facing credible threats.
He called for effective mechanisms to enable religious leaders, mosque committees and community organisations to report threats confidentially and obtain timely assistance from security agencies.
Mr Wakili also urged security agencies to strengthen intelligence gathering, improve rapid-response capabilities and intensify security operations in communities affected by banditry, kidnapping and other forms of armed violence.
(NAN)
