Former Kaduna Central Senator Shehu Sani has identified opposition to extremism, advocacy for inter-religious tolerance and peace, and naming terrorist leaders or groups during sermons as three common factors he believes contributed to the assassination of prominent clerics in Northern Nigeria.
Sani made the claims in a post on his X handle on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, citing what he described as a recurring pattern in attacks against religious figures in the region.
He referenced clerics including Sheikh Jaafar Adam, who was killed in Kano in 2007; Sheikh Imam Ahmed, who was killed in Borno in 2011; and Sheikh Awwal Albani, who was killed in Zaria in 2014.
According to the former lawmaker, the clerics shared characteristics that put them at risk because of their opposition to extremist ideologies and their efforts to promote peaceful coexistence.
He wrote, “All the prominent clerics that have been assassinated in the North in the last fifteen years have THREE common factors that undoubtedly led to their elimination; SPEAKING out against extremism, ADVOCATING for inter religious tolerance and peace and MENTIONING the name of terror leaders or groups by their name in their sermons,”
Sani also recalled travelling privately to Maiduguri in 2011 with former President Olusegun Obasanjo to initiate a peace dialogue. He said the individual who facilitated the meeting was killed the following day and that they subsequently received threats.
“In 2011, Ex President Obasanjo and myself privately went to Maiduguri to initiate a dialogue for peace, after the event we headed back to Abuja; the next day, the man who facilitated the dialogue was eliminated, and we received threats,” he stated.
Sani said the threats reflected attempts by terrorists to silence people involved in peace initiatives and those who openly challenged their activities.
“The terrorists want silence or they will silence,” Sani wrote.
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