₦airaland Forum

Bishop Kukah insists there is no persecution of Christians in Nigeria, arguing that genocide is determined by intent, not numbers. He questioned sources claiming widespread church burnings and cited Christian dominance in education and the economy.

Our God is indeed great. When He decides to vindicate you, He does it in the most powerful way. He can use the very same people who spent years lying against you to come out and admit that what they have been saying is not true.

During President Buhari's time, there was hardly any place Bishop didn’t visit to draw the world’s attention with claims that Christians were being persecuted in Nigeria. Today, the same man is going around explaining to the world that Christians are not being persecuted in Nigeria.

I genuinely agree with Bishop Kukah that there is no Christian genocide in Nigeria. That is exactly what we kept telling him years ago, when he was busy travelling across the U.S. and the Western world, presenting Nigeria as a country persecuting Christians during President Buhari’s time. Unfortunately, those same reports he gave then are now being used against us today.

It is good that the Bishop now understands the situation better, that what he thought it was then is not what it actually is.

ogododo:
Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, Most Revd Matthew Kukah, on Wednesday, said the Federal Government has failed to handle the issue of security which it promised to do before taking over power.

He said this during his virtual presentation to the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission in Washington, DC, on the persecution of Christians in Nigeria by armed extremist groups in the North.

Kukah said the people are yet to see any tangible move towards tackling Nigeria’s insecurity which, according to him, has a religious undertone.


He stated that the people were agitated, adding that there was palpable fear and tension across the country.

The clergy, in his testimony before the US Congress Commission, claimed religious violence against Christians in Nigeria was a recurring experience of many years, but the spate of the attacks has risen steadily in the last 10 years.




According to Bishop Kukah, the extremists target mainly Christian schools in the North, “indoctrinate the children and end up converting the girls to wives, cooks, spies, sexual slaves and so on.

“The story of Leah Sharibu suggests very clearly that there is, in many instances, a relationship between the conditions in which people find themselves and the faith they believe in.”

According to Bishop Kukah, “Last year, 2020, some of our Priests in the North were killed. The extremists kidnapped our children and forcefully converted them to Muslims.


“We have issued statements and called the attention of the government to our plight. We have also reached out to let the government know that we are willing to cooperate towards the greatness of our country.”

The Bishop, who is the Secretary of the National Peace Committee, accused President Muhammadu Buhari of deliberately appointing more people of his ethnicity and faith into political offices.



He said, “The North, even the whole country is invaded by armed bandits, kidnappers, etc who attack communities at will. The fact that the government seems to be either helpless or uninterested in dealing decisively with these people has added more confusion.

“And the contradiction here is that the President has blatantly pursued nepotistic and policies that show very clearly his preferences for men and women of his faith.”

The Bishop of Sokoto Diocese also said “for the first time in Nigeria the people heading three arms of government; the President, Senate President Speaker, and Chief Justice are all Muslims. These are all fine gentlemen, but that is not the point. The level of between Christians and Muslims has been exacerbated. This kind of situation has never happened before.


“What is significant here is that we are in a democracy; with weak structures, and institutions. These are existential issues. So, we require practical assistance that can help us and our children.”


https://www.vanguardngr.com/2021/07/kukah-to-us-congress-fg-helpless-uninterested-in-dealing-decisively-with-bandits-insurgents/amp/

wwwihy:
The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese and Convener of the National Peace Committee (NPC), Most Rev. Matthew Kukah, has insisted that there is no persecution of Christians in Nigeria, stressing that genocide is determined not by the number of casualties but by intent.

Bishop Kukah recently came under criticism after being quoted as urging the international community not to designate Nigeria as a “country of particular concern,” arguing that such a label would heighten tensions, breed suspicion, and allow criminals to exploit the situation—ultimately undermining interfaith dialogue and cooperation with government.

Speaking while presenting a paper at the 46th Supreme Convention of the Knights of St. Mulumba (KSM) in Kaduna, he stated that on the issue of alleged Christian killings in Nigeria, he aligns fully with the Vatican Secretary of State, the President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, and all Catholic bishops in the country.

He said: “They are saying that 1,200 churches are burnt in Nigeria every year, and I ask myself—in which Nigeria? Interestingly, nobody approached the Catholic Church to get accurate data. We do not know where these figures came from. All those talking about persecution—has anyone ever called to ask, ‘Bishop Kukah, what is the situation?’ The data being circulated cleverly avoids the Catholic Church because they know Catholics do not indulge in hearsay.”

Explaining the misuse of the word genocide, he noted: “Genocide is not based on the number of people killed. You can kill 10 million people and it still won’t amount to genocide. The critical determinant is intent—whether the aim is to eliminate a group of people. So, you don’t determine genocide by numbers; you determine it by intention. We need to be more clinical in the issues we discuss.”

He further challenged the narrative of Christian persecution in the country: “If you are a Christian in Nigeria and you say you are persecuted, my question is: how? At least 80% of educated Nigerians are Christians, and up to 85% of the Nigerian economy is controlled by Christians. With such figures, how can anyone say Christians are being persecuted?”

Bishop Kukah attributed many challenges faced by Christians to internal disunity, saying: “The main problem is that Christians succumb to bullies. The day we decide to stand together—believing that an injury to one is an injury to all—these things will stop.”

He also criticized loose claims of martyrdom: “Because someone is killed in a church, does that automatically make them a martyr? Whether you are killed while stealing someone’s yam or attacked by bandits, does that qualify as martyrdom? I am worried because we must think more deeply.”

Clarifying misconceptions about his earlier remarks, he added: “People say there is genocide in Nigeria. What I presented at the Vatican was a 1,270-page study on genocide in Nigeria and elsewhere. My argument is that it is not accurate to claim there is genocide or martyrdom in Nigeria.”

Bishop Kukah urged members of the Knights of St. Mulumba to defend the Church through exemplary conduct: “We are no longer talking about wielding swords, but about living as true witnesses.”

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2025/11/no-christian-persecution-in-nigeria-bishop-kukah/

Bishop Kukah insists there is no persecution of Christians in Nigeria, arguing that genocide is determined by intent, not numbers.

ALTERNATEID:
So what is Bashir Ahmed trying to say? When Buhari was the president, did he agree that there was Christian genocide in Nigeria? So, why is he angry that Father Kukah has refused to accept the Christian genocide claim? Is that not hypocrisy on his part?

naptu2:
Newstropy @_newstropy


I genuinely agree with Bishop Kukah that there is no Christian genocide in Nigeria. That is exactly what we kept telling him years ago, when he was busy travelling across the U.S. and the Western world, presenting Nigeria as a country persecuting Christians during President Buhari’s time. Unfortunately, those same reports he gave then are now being used against us today.

It is good that the Bishop now understands the situation better, that what he thought it was then is not what it actually is.
https://x.com/BashirAhmaad/status/1995062030479270186?[/quote]Is Bashir Ahmed trying to say that the persecution is carried out by Nigeria or the Islamic terrorists among them? So, what's the essence of using the "Nigeria" as he posited. He should know that both Christians and moderate Muslims are a target of Islamic terrorism in Nigeria as whole.

YourNextLevel:
Am loving it.

That Bishop has disgraced himself and giving him a VC spot

This dude Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo is slowly unveiling his political mission.

The Christian Genocide is now becoming a “Political Genocide”. pic.twitter.com/EyKquc5hYP

— High Chief Lawrence Igbins Okoro (@HighChiefOkoro) December 1, 2025

naptu2:
Newstropy @_newstropy



https://x.com/_newstropy/status/1995018105836421336?

Bashir Ahmad, OON @BashirAhmaad



https://x.com/BashirAhmaad/status/1995040864331092366?


Bashir Ahmad, OON @BashirAhmaad



https://x.com/BashirAhmaad/status/1995062030479270186?[/quote]Is it three weeks already or you decided to unblock me? Hehehe 😂

Akwamkpuruamu:
What a great shame to Bishop Kukah. He sold his birthright for Ebola portage. Now Bashir is mocking him.