The statement of Bishop Matthew Kukah, the Catholic bishop of Sokoto diocese that says ‘bomb is the only difference between Boko Haram and government‘ has been criticized by the Federal Government.
Minister of information, Lai Mohammed frowned at the utterances from the Bishop for comparing the federal government to the Boko Haram sect, warning the Cleric not to divide Nigerians along religious lines.
The Minister who warned the Cleric via Segun Adeyemi, his spokesman, Mohammed described such claim as insensitive.
He said Kukah’s comment is “not only disingenuous, but also a great disservice to the men and women in uniform who are daily battling the Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists to keep all Nigerians safe.”
“To now attribute the actions of these mad bunch to an orchestrated and systematic plan to elevate one religion over the other or decimate adherents of a particular religion is not only unfortunate but divisive, incendiary and insensitive,” Mohammed said.
The minister maintained the federal government’s position that the insurgents do not subscribe to any religion, “irrespective of their pretense to such.”
He said they are instead driven by their “primitive propensity to kill mindlessly and destroy without restrain, irrespective of their victims’ creed, gender or tribe.”
The minister appealed to Kukah and other religious leaders to be more circumspect in their comments “because of the deeply emotive nature of religion and the tendency for it to be exploited for political gains by naysayers.”
