SOKAPU to FG: Those who threatened Kukah must be arrested

The Southern Kaduna people under the aegis of the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union have reacted to the threat to the life of Bishop Mathew Kukah.

The union demanded the arrest of those who threatened Kukah with an eviction order over his Christmas homily.

The bishop is facing a repatriation threat from Sokoto by the Muslim Forum that claimed his message was offensive to Islam.

Kukah had in the message lashed out on the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari(retd.) of being nepotistic in his appointment among others. A development that drew the ires of some Muslim faithful.

The SOKAPU’s National President, Jonathan Asake, a former House of Representatives member, on behalf of his people, also kicked against the threats to the Catholic bishop.

Asake, at a world press conference in Kaduna on Monday, warned that nobody has the monopoly of violence and that no harm must befall the Catholic bishop.

This was just as he carpeted the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari(retd.) over his alleged discriminatory postures towards other Nigerians apart from those from the “core North”.

Asake said only the likes of the Sultan, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, and emirs from the core north could criticise the current Buhari regime and go scot-free in the country today.

He said there was nothing different in Kukah’s sermons that had not been said by prominent Nigerians such as the Sultan.

He recalled the treatment meted out to a former Minister of Defence, Gen. TY Danjuma(retd.), and the former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr. Obadiah Mailafia, on their comments on the nation’s insecurity.

Asake warned of the dangerous consequences of some of the treatment meted out to some Nigerians he labelled as ” second class” by the Buhari regime.

The SOKAPU boss said, “It appears to us, therefore, that comments by Nigerians attract different reactions from the government, depending on the region, ethnicity, and religion of the person making such comments.

“It’s sad to note that when persons of core Northern extraction criticize the government; they are taken as kind words, but when the same statements are made by people of Southern or Middle Belt extractions; they are harassed and tormented and their comments branded as treasonable by the government.

“This discriminatory posture of government clearly shows that the Buhari-led administration treats Nigerian citizens differently; some as first-class and others considered as second class. Punch