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Killing Christians Is The Only Offence Without Accountability – Kukah
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
Bishop Matthew Kukah of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sokoto has strongly condemned the ongoing persecution of Christians in Northern Nigeria, expressing deep concern over the lack of accountability for those responsible for attacks on the Christian community.
Speaking virtually at the Silver Jubilee Anniversary of the Order of the Knights of St. Mulumba Nigeria Eko Subordinate Council in Lagos, Bishop Kukah lamented that no individual has been prosecuted for the numerous incidents of violence against Christians in the region.
Kukah highlighted the troubling trend of impunity, where attacks on Christians, including the burning of churches and the destruction of Christian properties, go unpunished. He cited specific examples of violence, such as the public slaughter of a pastor in Adamawa, the killings of priests in Benue and Kaduna, and the broader climate of fear and discrimination faced by Christians in the North.
The bishop also criticized the ethnic and religious polarization that has tainted the Christian faith in Nigeria, urging for a more unified and inclusive approach to Christianity across the country. He called on Christians to rise above ethnic divisions and to see the suffering of Christians in any part of Nigeria as a shared concern.
Kukah’s remarks come in the wake of numerous incidents where Christians have been denied the right to build churches or have been subjected to violence without any legal recourse. He emphasized that the challenges facing Christians in Nigeria today require courage and resilience, invoking the concept of martyrdom as a symbol of the daily struggles faced by believers
Despite the risks, Bishop Kukah reaffirmed his commitment to his ministry in Sokoto, underscoring his belief that the Christian mission must continue in the face of adversity.
He said;
If you look at our country – Nigeria, the issue is that, in Northern Nigeria, Christians constitute some of the groups that you can kill without consequences. You can ask yourself has anybody ever been charged for burning churches or for destroying Christian properties. A pastor was slaughtered openly in Adamawa. People, priests were killed in Benue. Priests have been killed in Kaduna.
“It seems as if killing Christians is the only thing the world can do without consequences. That means that if you are serious as Christians, Catholics, what happens to the church in Ikwerre, what happens to the church in Sokoto, what happens to the church in Onitsha, what happens to the church everywhere in this country should affect us. Tragically, you know, Christianity has become largely subordinated to ethnicity.
“Many people today still have a caliphate mentality that those who are not part of us must be against us. And this is the fate of Christians and Christianity in many parts of Northern Nigeria today, where Christianity is being tolerated. Christians are being denied lands to build churches, and it is not seen as a problem. In a place like Kenya, I have a problem of that nature right now as we talk.
We must preach the gospel, welcome or unwelcome. Preaching the gospel has no political and ethnic boundaries. It is not about friendship. If it is about friendship, Jesus would have said to Peter, get behind me. When we are confronted, martyrdom is not just about being killed. Because, of course, in the end, you are killed for speaking the truth. I remember in the days of Abacha, many times people used to say to me, oh Bishop, if you don’t keep quiet, you will be killed for nothing.
“I am saying so because we now need to come to terms with the essence that every day of our lives as Christians, we are challenged to martyrdom. Martyrdom because a sword is dangling before us. Martyrdom because we have a country, we have a society, we have a world that is so morally broken that every day the whole question of what is right and what is wrong has been circumscribed by the circumstances in which we find ourselves. When martyrdom comes to us, we embrace it, we are not in retreat.
“The challenge, therefore, is for us to come to terms with these realities and how they can be addressed. Here in Sokoto, for example, I have lost a seminarian, I have lost a priest, my priests have been kidnapped, not once, not twice. But my immediate reaction is that in all of this, we are only inspired. People look at me and they say to me, why are you going back to Sokoto? I remember when Deborah was killed, I was out of Sokoto. People were saying to me, how are you going back to Sokoto? When my seminarian, my priest, was kidnapped and released last month, people asked if I was still going back to Sokoto.”
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, says there is no going back on the current administration’s reforms in the forex and oil and gas sectors.
Edun made this known when he received the newly assigned Minister of State for Finance, Doris Uzoka Anitez at the Ministry’s headquarters, on Monday.
“Nigeria now have a foreign exchange rate that is market based and also a deregulated oil market pricing which are two reforms that are long overdue over many decades that President Tinubu is currently implementing.
“Therefore as co-ordinating minister of economy, we stand on a threshold of a new dawn to implement these reforms and increase productivity, create jobs and reducing poverty and we are glad to have a minister of state that will help in actualizing the President’s reforms,” he said.
According to him, consultation and collaboration is key to achieving these key reforms both from public and private sector, stressing that ongoing economic policies are showing sustainability and sign of success.
The Minister of State for Finance, in her response, restated her commitment to work with stakeholders in both private and public sectors to ensure economic growth is materialized.
The Martins Amaewhule-led House of Assembly in Rivers State said Governor Siminialayi Fubara has a penchant to disobey courts’ judgements and constitutional provisions.
This is as the lawmakers also vowed to make Fubara’s appointees and permanent secretaries aiding him to circumvent the law have their date with the law.
They stated this during their 65th sitting on Monday in the legislative quarters.
In a statement by Martin’s Wachukwu, Special Assistant on Media to the Speaker, Martins Amaewhule, said the lawmakers reviewed the governor’s actions while deliberating on the recent judgement of the Federal High Court, Abuja Division.
The state legistators comnended the verdict of Justice J.O. Abdulmalik barring government from withdrawing from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the State, until the 2024 Appropriation Bill is presented before a properly constituted Assembly describing it as a sound and well considered ruling.
The statement also pointed out that the Assembly on 15th July, 2024 deliberated and resolved on the continuous refusal of Fubara to present the 2024 Rivers State Appropriation Bill to the House.
The lawmakers then took the decision to write to the governor to shut down on expenditure pursuant to Section 122 of the 1999 Constitution.
Enabled by its resolution, the House and Amaewhule filed an action before the Federal High Court to determine whether Fubara could expend or continue to expend from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the State without a valid 2024 Appropriation Law by the State House of Assembly.
The lawmakers prayed the court to invoke the consequences of such constitutional breach by ordering the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Accountant- General of the Federation, some Money Deposit Banks among other defendants to stop the release of moneys or permit the withdrawal of Rivers State funds until Fubara complied with the Constitution which he swore to uphold; and the court decided in favour of the House and the Speaker.
Commenting on the judgement, Amaewhule said, “Since 1st of July, 2024, Governor Fubara has been spending moneys of the State without approval hence the declaration of the shutdown of expenditure.
“Yet, the Governor in his characteristic manner of disobeying judgements of Courts, the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and extant laws has continued to circumvent the Law with the aid of Permanent Secretaries, and some individuals who parade themselves as Commissioners. They will certainly have a date with the Law”.
The Nigerian Airforce says its airstrike has neutralized 50 terrorists, including a high-ranking ISWAP commander known as Bashir Dauda, during an operation in Marte Local Government
Air Commodore Olusola F Akinboyewa, Director, Public Relations and Information, Headquarters, Nigerian Air Force, in a statement on Monday night said the precision strikes focused on known ISWAP strongholds in the villages of Tumbun Daribiyar, Jubularam, Buluwa, and Tumbu Karfe, marking a major effort in the ongoing fight against terrorism in Nigeria’s Northeast.
It said an on-ground assessment confirmed that “approximately 50 terrorists, including a high-ranking ISWAP commander known as Bashir Dauda, were neutralized in the operation.”
” Additionally, an ISWAP supply depot in the Jubularam enclave, filled with a substantial cache of food and essential items like beans, millet, and rice, was destroyed, effectively severing a critical resource line for the terrorists.
“These successful air strikes, targeting personnel and logistics, underscore NAF’s ongoing commitment to supporting ground forces and enhancing joint efforts to decimate terrorist strongholds in the region,” he said.
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