Former Kaduna Central senator Shehu Sani has said the killings of high-profile Islamic clerics in northern Nigeria over the past 15 years share a common pattern: the victims publicly opposed extremist violence, promoted religious coexistence and peace, and identified terrorist leaders or organisations in their sermons.
Writing on his verified X account on Tuesday, Sani said those actions had made the clerics targets for militant groups seeking to suppress public criticism and discourage religious voices from challenging terrorism.
He recalled a private trip to Maiduguri in 2011 with former President Olusegun Obasanjo, undertaken to open discussions aimed at restoring peace. Sani said that after the meeting, they returned to Abuja, but the person who had arranged the dialogue was killed the following day. He added that threats were also issued after the initiative.
“Every prominent cleric murdered in the North over the past 15 years was targeted because they spoke against terrorism,” Sani said. “The terrorists demand silence, or they will impose it.”
