The Presidency has been slammed by the Catholic bishops of Ibadan Ecclesiastical Province for attacking the Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Rev Fr. Matthew Kukah.
Kukah had during a recent virtual address to a United States Congress committee, accused President Muhammadu Buhari of nepotism, saying that he shows a preference for Muslims in his appointments and that his actions have made worse the level of the rivalry between Muslims and Christians.
He also said that Buhari was not ready to tackle the raging insecurity in the country.
But in its response, Buhari’s spokesman, Garba Shehu, accused Kukah of making false claims and said that he had been sowing seeds of discords and strife among Nigerians.
However, in a communique after a meeting on Wednesday, the bishops from Ibadan Archdiocese, Ilorin, Ondo, Oyo, Ekiti, and Osogbo dioceses frowned at the Presidency.
The communique reads: “Bishop Kukah, in his patriotic and frank presentation, called attention to some verifiable data and statistics about the Nigerian situation on that privileged international platform. He spoke for authentic Christians and Muslims who are under persecution. No doubt, he intended to solicit the support of that forum which many Nigerians believe holds the promise of some assistance and relief from our current national crises.
“The Federal Government however has characteristically gone up in arms against the person of Bishop Kukah and his purpose. It is commonly said that when there is a problem in a democracy, more democracy is needed to solve it. Sadly enough, our current federal government does not seem to subscribe to this.
“For the sake of our democracy, that right, exercised with responsibility, must be protected. We support Bishop Kukah in his effort to unveil the truth about the Nigerian situation in order to ameliorate things. We call on the Nigerian government to learn not to see criticism as an attack or a crime.”
The bishops also slammed the National Assembly for trying to gag the media and penalising journalists for merely doing their jobs.
“We declare again, as we have done often in the past, that only the truth can set us free.
“The attempt of the Nigerian National Assembly to silence the press and penalise journalists for merely doing their job is to be completely rejected.
“We hold that the freedom of expression is a fundamental human right, guaranteed by the constitution and cannot be alienated by any government least of all in a democracy.
“For the sake of our democracy, that right exercised with responsibility must be protected,” they said.