Nigeria’s outspoken Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Most Rev. Matthew Kukah, has set off a fresh controversy, dismissing claims that Christians are facing genocide in Nigeria, and tearing apart the figures being circulated as “fiction.”
Addressing the 46th Supreme Convention of the Knights of St. Mulumba in Kaduna, Kukah unleashed a hard-hitting rebuttal to reports suggesting mass Christian killings, insisting the numbers are cooked up and not backed by a single verified source.
He said his stance aligns with the Vatican, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, and every Catholic bishop in the country.
Kukah scoffed at sensational claims of mass church burnings.
“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,” he said.
“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,” he said.
Kukah also punched holes in the popular narrative of Christian persecution.
“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?”
According to him, many of the fears within the Christian community stem from internal divisions, not targeted attacks.
“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 said.
Kukah also lashed out at those hastily declaring victims of violence as martyrs.
“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.”
Reacting to criticism over earlier remarks where he advised caution regarding Nigeria being labelled a “country of particular concern,” Kukah warned that such tags could inflame tensions and empower criminal groups.
Backed by research, including “a 1,270-page study on genocide in Nigeria and elsewhere,” which he presented at the Vatican, Kukah insisted he is standing on facts, not sentiment.
“My argument is that it is not accurate to claim there is genocide or martyrdom in Nigeria,” he added.
