Coup comments: Catholic Bishops back Kukah

Catholic Bishops have thrown their weight behind Mathew Kukah, the Bishop of Sokoto Diocese over his recent assertion on the state of the nation.

Mr Kukah during his Christmas message last week lambasted the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari for allegedly encouraging nepotism through his conducts.

The cleric said had someone from other parts of the country aside the North exhibited a fraction of nepotism in this present administration, a coup could have been carried out.

His comments did not augur well with some individuals and groups from the North. Leading the outrage is the Arewa Youths Consultative Forum which has called for the prosecution of the cleric.

But in a statement from the National Directorate of Social Communications of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria in Abuja, the church threw their weight behind their own, saying he spoke nothing but the truth.

“We are quite aware of the 2020 Christmas Message by our revered Bishop Hassan Kukah and the enormous space it has enjoyed on social media and in the public sphere,” the statement read.

“As expected, the agents of evil have gathered to attack the person of the Bishop and to discredit the simple obvious truth of the message.

“This is the stock in trade of evil people. However, they often succeed when good people, Christians, choose to do nothing.”

Quoting a popular verse by St. Augustine, the church said: “Evil is the absence of good.”

“The truth about our nation is also that there are only two parties now existing: the good and the evil, the oppressed and the oppressor, the suffering people and the benefiting government officers and their families.

“Please stop allowing anyone to fool you with these cards: religion and tribe,” it added.