Gunmen on a motorcycle killed a 47-year-old Islamic cleric and one of his guests outside the preacher's residence in northern Nigeria on Monday evening.

The victim, Yahaya Masussuka, was shot in the town of Dutsin-Ma, located in Katsina state, while bidding farewell to visitors. Both men were taken to a local hospital where a doctor pronounced them dead.

While police have not established a clear motive, Masussuka had recently received death threats on social media. The preacher regularly posted videos to his followers recorded in a home studio.

Masussuka was known for rejecting several mainstream Islamic traditions. Rather than relying on Hadiths—collections of the Prophet Muhammad's sayings and actions used to help interpret the Quran—he based his teachings almost entirely on the Quran itself. In particular, he disputed the traditional belief that deceased souls are awakened and interrogated in their graves. His open mockery of established scholars over these views previously resulted in a nine-month prison sentence.

Beyond his theological positions, Masussuka actively spoke out against radicalisation and violent extremism. He advocated for peaceful coexistence between Nigeria's Christian and Muslim populations, which are roughly equal in size. Last year, the Network for Good Governance and Transparency presented him with a Peace Ambassador Award.

Masussuka began preaching at Quranic schools at age 13 before pursuing further education at Al-Azhar University in Egypt and later in Oman. He is survived by two wives and seven children.

Over the last 20 years, six other prominent Islamic preachers have been assassinated in northern Nigeria. Several were killed by Boko Haram, an insurgent group formed in 2009 that opposes Western education, culture, and secular government while seeking to establish an Islamic state.

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Source: BBC News