By Mike Oboh KANO, April 13 (Reuters) - Unidentified gunmen in northern Nigeria shot dead a hardline Muslim scholar and government critic while he was at prayer in a mosque on Friday, police said. It was not clear if the apparent assassination was linked to general elections in Africa's most populous nation, which will be held over the next two Saturdays. "Sheik Jafar Adam and one other person are dead," a Kano state police spokesman said, adding the murder was being investigated. The Saudi-educated cleric was shot five times at close range at the Dorayi Central Mosque and died of his wounds before reaching hospital, security sources said. He will be buried later on Friday. Adam was a prominent member of Sunni Islam's strict "Wahhabi" sect in Nigeria, which had accused the Kano state authorities of failing to implement Islamic sharia law properly. Kano is one of 12 northern Nigerian states which introduced sharia in 2000, a move by state governors that alienated the Christian minorities and sparked violence. Southern Nigeria is predominantly Christian. A member of Adam's sect spoke out on radio against the state's official celebration of the birthday of the Prophet Mohammad two weeks ago, prompting a rival sect to tear down the station's antenna. Armed riot police, who always man Kano's streets on Fridays to prevent trouble after the main Muslim prayers, were out in greater numbers than usual. Kano has seen several bouts of ethnic and religious bloodshed over the past few years, and tensions were already running high in the city of 6 million because of the impending elections. The deputy Imam of the Dorayi Central Mosque made a statement on local radio appealing for calm. (Additional reporting by Tom Ashby in Abuja, Ardo Hazzad in Bauchi)
