Katsina Cleric Killed: No Autopsy Done, Associate Explains Delay in Burial

The Federal Teaching Hospital in Katsina said on Thursday that no autopsy was done on Sheikh Yahaya Masussuka, the Islamic cleric killed with a friend by gunmen in Dutsin-Ma three days ago.

The body has been embalmed and is still in the mortuary. The funeral is set for Friday, 30 October.

Suleiman Abubakar, a longtime associate who saw the attack, explained how the shooting happened. He talked about family discussions that caused the delay in the burial as investigations are ongoing.

Yahaya Yahuza, the mortician at the hospital, told PREMIUM TIMES on Thursday that Mr Masussuka’s body arrived at about 2:20 a.m. on Tuesday.

He said relatives brought the body, and the cleric was already dead when they arrived. "No post-mortem was performed on him. Only embalming was done," Mr Yahuza stated.

He confirmed that the body was still at the hospital on Thursday. Relatives planned to collect it on Friday morning.

When asked about the delay in burial, Mr Yahuza said he did not have that information.

"I don’t have information on that because his relatives are the ones who know the reason why they kept him up to this point," he said.

He also noted that he saw wounds on the body but did not want to guess their cause without medical tests.

"There are wounds on his body. But the doctors are the ones to confirm what actually happened to him," he said.

Suleiman Abubakar also spoke to PREMIUM TIMES at the mortuary, joined by the slain cleric’s secretary. He has known Mr Masussuka for about 25 years, as a pupil and friend.

On Monday evening, he took Mr Masussuka to pay respects after the death of the cleric’s father-in-law. After prayers, Mr Abubakar went home, promising to return at 8:30 p.m. to drive the cleric to a studio for their regular programs.

“When I returned at 8:30 p.m., he heard my voice and asked, ‘Is Al-Sistani back?’ I said, ‘Yes, it’s me,’” he recalled.

The cleric then asked for the vehicle keys, following their usual routine. Four people were getting ready: Mr Abubakar, a visitor from Katsina, the cleric, and Adamu Abubakar, another visitor from Nasarawa State.

Mr Abubakar drove out of the compound and parked as usual. The cleric and Adamu approached the vehicle.

“I pressed the button to unlock the car so he could open the door and enter. Suddenly, I heard gunfire,” he said.

“Gunfire was coming from different directions. The shooting went on, then stopped. After a while, it started again.”

When the shooting stopped for a moment, Mr Abubakar ducked and crawled into an unfinished building next to the residence, where he hid for about two minutes.

“Then I heard people crying, women, children and adults, saying, ‘Mallam has been shot! Mallam has been shot!’”

When he came out, a crowd had gathered outside the house.

“I went to look and saw him lying in a pool of blood,” he said.

Mr Abubakar and a neighbor, Malam Ali, lifted the cleric into the vehicle and drove towards the General Hospital in Dutsin-Ma.

They stopped briefly to pick up the cleric’s secretary, whose home was along the way, without explaining what had happened.

At the hospital’s emergency department, the men moved the cleric onto a bed.

“Honestly, we could not see any sign that he was still alive. But since we are not medical professionals, the doctors told us to wait while they examined him,” Mr Abubakar said.

After a while, the medical staff came back with the sad news.

“They came out and told us, ‘You have to take heart. Mallam’s time has come,’” he recalled.

The General Hospital then provided an ambulance to take the body back to Katsina. A police area commander arranged an escort, Mr Abubakar said.

His account puts his return to the house at about 8:30 p.m., right before the shooting. The Katsina State Police Command said the attack happened around 7:30 p.m.

The time difference is still unclear.

Mr Abubakar said family members and elders chose to delay the burial while discussions continued and the authorities looked into the killing.

“There is a reason, because we have elders ahead of us. The government is also aware of what happened, so we had to wait and hear what would be done,” he said.

He mentioned that security officials came and found spent bullet casings near the entrance.

“Since the authorities sent personnel who recovered ammunition casings at the entrance to the house, and investigations are ongoing, we could not rush things,” he said.

Mr Abubakar added that after more discussions, they agreed to hold the funeral on Friday at about 2:30 p.m.

The funeral prayer is set to take place at Kofar Soro, near the Emir of Katsina’s palace, after Friday prayers.

A video announcement by the cleric’s associates on Thursday confirmed the funeral will be in Katsina instead of Dutsin-Ma.

Mr Abubakar dismissed claims that the decision to hold the funeral in Katsina was due to fears of more violence.

“He had a home in Dutsin-Ma and another here in Katsina. In fact, his main home was in Katsina,” he said.

“His family members are here. It is not because of fear.”

He also ruled out any plans for retaliation by the cleric’s associates.

“We have left this matter to God. We are not the kind of people who would seek revenge because something like this has happened,” he said.

The attack also killed Adamu Abubakar, who Mr Suleiman described as a friend of the cleric and an imam who lived in Lafia, Nasarawa State.

Mr Abubakar said Adamu was from Bauchi State and had known Mr Masussuka since childhood. He was buried on Wednesday after talks between his family and the cleric’s associates.

Mr Abubakar mentioned that Mr Masussuka had faced threats before his death. Associates reported these threats to the authorities.

“Whenever we hear any statement that poses a threat, we go and inform the authorities. We don’t remain silent,” he said.

He did not provide specific dates or documents for the complaints and did not blame anyone for the killing.

“We don’t suspect anyone,” he said. “Even if someone says they will do something, that does not mean they actually did it.”

The armed group Ansaru took responsibility for the attack in a video, as reported by PREMIUM TIMES. This claim has not been verified.

The Katsina State Police Command stated that two gunmen on a motorcycle attacked the cleric and his friend outside the house on Monday evening. Police Commissioner Ali Fage has ordered officers to catch the attackers.

President Bola Tinubu condemned the killings and told security agencies to speed up their investigation.

The cleric’s former teacher, Yahaya Adam, urged followers to stay calm and avoid revenge.

The police have not clarified if an autopsy was requested or what steps were taken regarding the threats mentioned by Mr Abubakar.