By Elias Ali
Catholic Bishop of the Sokoto Diocese, Rev. Matthew Hassan Kukah, has denied assertions that he dismissed the persecution of Christians in Nigeria, insisting that his remarks have been mischaracterised and taken out of context.
Speaking on Sunday on Boiling Point, a current affairs programme broadcast on multiple radio stations, Kukah was responding to widespread reports suggesting he had said there is no Christian persecution in Nigeria — a portrayal he said was incorrect and misleading.
“I never denied the killing of our people [Christians],” Kukah 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 clarification follows heightened debate over religious violence in the country, intensified after the United States, under former President Donald Trump, redesignated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) on October 31 in response to claims of Christian genocide in parts of the country.
In his latest remarks, Kukah stressed that acknowledging the suffering of Christians does not amount to denying it. He said his earlier comments were aimed at encouraging a more comprehensive understanding of Nigeria’s security challenges rather than dismissing the reality of targeted violence.
In previous public interventions, Kukah had cautioned against framing Nigeria’s security crisis solely as a religious conflict. In one such address, he said:
“We cannot afford simplistic narratives. What we face in Nigeria is a multiplex crisis — terrorism, banditry, communal conflict, criminality and governance failures intersecting in ways that affect all communities, Christian and Muslim alike.”
He added: “If we reduce all this to religion alone, we obscure the underlying causes and make it harder to find real solutions.”
Those earlier remarks, while acknowledging that Christians have been victims of killings and attacks, drew criticism from some quarters who felt they downplayed the religious dimension of the violence.
Kukah’s clarification has since reignited public debate on how Nigeria’s insecurity should be understood and addressed. While some Christian groups welcomed his reaffirmation that Christians are being killed, others remain wary of narratives they believe risk minimising persecution.
Nigeria continues to face multiple security threats, including insurgency in the northeast, banditry in the northwest, and Fulani community attacks in the Middle Belt, with religious identity often intersecting with these conflicts.
The bishop maintained that misrepresenting statements on such a sensitive issue only deepens division and distracts from the urgent task of protecting lives and restoring peace. “What I have always said is simple,” Kukah said. “We must confront violence honestly, without reducing it to slogans or soundbites.”