The Christian Association of
Nigeria has cautioned those threatening the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, Dr
Matthew Kukah, to stop their “unlawful” actions and also asked the security
agencies to ensure the safety and security of the cleric.
The organisation made this known
in a press statement by its General Secretary, Joseph Daramola, on Thursday.
Recall that the
Sokoto-based group asked Kukah to vacate the state or tender an apology over
his comments on Islam.
Part of the statement read, “We
have been watching the unfolding scenario since Bishop Kukah spoke his mind on
the State of the Nation in his Christmas homily and how some groups of people
have been threatening him with fire and brimstone while all relevant security
agencies are pretending as if nothing unusual is happening.
“We wonder if those threatening
the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto are above the law or if they are sacred cows in
the country.
“We have studied the whole
Christmas message of Dr Kukah and we are yet to see any incitement against
Islam or non- Christians. We see nothing wrong in his message to the nation
that has been under the siege of terrorists, herdsmen killers, bandits and
kidnappers as if there was no government in place. We see nothing wrong in
telling a government whose lopsided appointments are against Christians the
whole truth.
“If criticism against a Muslim
President today, is an incitement to violence against Islam, it then means
those who were criticising the duo of former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and
Goodluck Jonathan when they were in power were actually attacking Christianity.
“When has it become an offence to
speak the truth to power? When has it become a crime to criticise a government
in the country?
CAN wondered why security
operatives have failed to arrest those threatening to attack the Bishop,
saying, “When did the Police and the Directorate of the State Security Services
lose their power to miscreants and lawless people who are making boasts of
their lawlessness without a challenge? We wonder if those Muslim groups who are
threatening to deal with Kukah got equal response from their Christian
counterparts, are we not setting up the country on fire?
“Bishop Kukah was posted to serve
in Sokoto by the Papacy and threatening him to leave is a global threat to
Christianity. In this same country, we have a Catholic Priest whose name is
synonymous with President Muhammadu Buhari yet the Catholic Church has not
deemed it fit to sanction him because Freedom of Speech and Association is not
only a constitutional matter but godly.
“We call on President Muhammadu
Buhari and all the security agencies to ensure that no harm befalls the
Catholic Bishop of the Sokoto Diocese, Dr Matthew Hassan Kukah. As far as the
Christian Association of Nigeria is concerned, what he said in his Christmas
Homily was still within the ambience of the law.
“It is high time those hiding
under religious sentiments to promote violence and crises stopped doing so if
we want this country to progress. We have had enough of bloodshed in the
country and we call on the security agencies to rise up to their constitutional
responsibilities. Nothing must happen to Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah. Enough is
Enough.”
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