Kukah Makes U-turn Over Christian Genocide In Nigeria Comment

The Catholic bishop of the Sokoto diocese, Matthew Kukah has denied reports claiming he said there is no Christian persecution in Nigeria. Kukah spoke on Sunday when he featured on Boiling Point, a programme aired on radio stations. On October 31, Donald Trump, United States President, redesignated Nigeria as a ‘country of particular concern (CPC)’ in response to claims of a Christian genocide in the country. The CPC is the US government designation of any country that engages in “systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom”. The Nigerian government had repeatedly denied the Christian genocide claim. In November, Trump threatened to go into Nigeria “guns-a-blazing to wipe out the terrorists killing our cherished Christians”, after some US politicians repeatedly claimed that there was a genocide against Christians in the West African nation. On December 25, the US launched air strikes against two terrorist enclaves in Bauni forest in Tangaza LGA, Sokoto state. ‘MY COMMENT WAS MISCHARACTERISED’ Kukah said his remarks on the genocide claim in Nigeria were taken out of context. “I never denied the killing of our people [Christians],” he said. “I don’t want to go into the details of the mischaracterisation of what I said, but it shocked me that Christians were going around saying that I said there is no persecution of Christians in Nigeria. “The only clarification I can give is that I have never denied that there is persecution of Christians in Nigeria. Whether it’s persecution, whether it’s genocide, by God, this thing ought not to have happened. “Wherever we can get help from, Trump, whatever, these killings ought not to have happened in the first place.” Kukah said the insecurity in the country affects Nigerians irrespective of their religion. “In my central argument about security in Nigeria, it doesn’t matter where you are, whether you are Muslim, whether you are Christian, you are in danger of being abducted,” he said. In October, Kukah urged the US government not to redesignate Nigeria as a country of particular concern. The Catholic bishop said Nigerians “feel vulnerable and unprotected irrespective of their faiths, ethnicity or social classes”.