The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has cautioned those threatening the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, Dr. Matthew Hassan Kukah to stop their unlawful actions, and also urged security agencies to ensure the safety and security of the cleric.
CAN General Secretary, Barrister Joseph Bade Daramola, gave the warning on Thursday in a statement.
According to him, CAN has 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.
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Daramola said that despite this, 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 did the Police and the Directorate of the State Security Services lose their power to miscreants and lawless people who are making boast 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?” he said.
He said that Bishop Kukah was posted to serve in Sokoto by the Papacy and threatening him to leave is a global threat to Christianity.
He also said that there is 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.
He therefore urged President Buhari and all the security agencies to ensure that no harm befall Bishop Kukah.
