The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah, has denied reports suggesting that he claimed there was no persecution of Christians in Nigeria, describing such claims as a misrepresentation of his comments.
Naijaonpoint reports that Kukah made the clarification on Sunday while speaking on Boiling Point, a radio programme.
His reaction followed reports linking him to comments downplaying claims of Christian persecution in Nigeria, amid renewed international attention on religious violence in the country.
On October 31, United States President Donald Trump redesignated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) over alleged violations of religious freedom, citing claims of a genocide against Christians.
The CPC designation is applied by the US government to countries accused of engaging in “systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom.”
The Nigerian government has consistently rejected claims of a Christian genocide.
In November, Trump threatened to go into Nigeria “guns-a-blazing” to wipe out terrorists allegedly killing Christians, following repeated claims by some US politicians.
On December 25, the United States launched airstrikes on two terrorist enclaves in Bauni forest, Tangaza Local Government Area of Sokoto State.
Addressing the controversy, Kukah said his remarks were misunderstood and 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.”
Kukah added that any form of help to end the killings should be welcomed.
“Wherever we can get help from, Trump, whatever, these killings ought not to have happened in the first place,” he said.
The bishop further argued that insecurity in Nigeria cuts across religious lines, affecting both Christians and Muslims.
“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,” Kukah said.
He recalled that in October, he had urged the United States government not to redesignate Nigeria as a CPC, maintaining that Nigerians generally feel unsafe regardless of religion, ethnicity or social status.