Ansaru releases propaganda video, defends killing of Katsina cleric Masussuka

Jama’at Ansar al-Muslimin fī Bilād Sudan, popularly known as Ansaru, has released another propaganda video, reaffirming its responsibility for killing Yahaya Masussuka, a controversial Islamic cleric murdered last month in his hometown of Dutsin-Ma, Katsina State.

In the video dated 22 Jumada Awwal (2 November), the terrorist group offered theological justifications for the killing.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that the cleric, alongside his friend, was killed on 26 October outside his home. A few hours later, Ansaru released a still image video, claiming responsibility for the assassination. The group said it killed the cleric for disputing the hadiths of Prophet Muhammad and advocating for interfaith harmony.

Many supporters of Mr Masussuka dismissed Ansaru’s claim, pointing fingers at Izala, a Sunni Islamic group to which some of the deceased’s theological opponents belong.

The Izala movement has condemned the killing and denied any involvement.

In the new video, a masked member of Ansaru reiterated its reasons for killing Mr Masussuka, stating that it refuses to depend on an apostate Nigerian government that has failed to act against individuals disparaging the Prophet.

The nine-minute video featured footage of the group’s training cell and showed a masked man seated in a bushy area explaining why Ansaru killed Mr Masussuka.

The man, dressed in military camouflage and reading from an Android tablet, presented the killing as part of what he described as a historical religious struggle against people who undermine Islam and its Prophet, drawing on theological arguments and historical examples to justify the group’s actions.

He cited at least three instances of killings in Islamic history, which he portrayed as precedents for Ansaru’s actions.

One of the cases he referenced was the execution of Ka’b al-Ashraf, a Medina-based Jewish poet who defamed Muslims, targeted Muslim women with obscene poetry, and incited violence by urging the Quraysh of Mecca to wage war against the Prophet and his community.

The speaker also referenced a verse attributed to the Islamic scholar Ibn Qayyim, which he presented as celebrating another historical killing, to reinforce his argument that such acts could be religiously justified.

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He further cited instances of mob violence against people accused of blasphemy in northern Nigeria to support, arguing that those instances were not different from what the group did to Mr Masussuka.

Ansaru, which has been blamed for many terror attacks across northern Nigeria, had earlier declared Mr Masussuka an infidel. PREMIUM TIMES reported that Mr Masussuka was known for his Quran-only perspective, with many people linking him to the “Quraniyun” sect.

In the new video, Ansaru dismissed Mr Masussuka as belonging to the “Kala-kato or Quraniyun” sect, claiming the adherents of the sect oppose interfaith harmony, even though Mr Masussuka often preached religious harmony.