Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah has appealed to the United States not to re-designate Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern,” saying such a move would undermine ongoing interfaith dialogue and national healing under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Hassan Kukah, has appealed to the United States government not to re-designate Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) over alleged religious persecution. He said the move would “hurt ongoing efforts” toward dialogue, peace, and inclusiveness under the current administration.
Speaking at the launch of the Aid to the Church in Need (ACIN) 2025 World Report on Religious Freedom in Vatican City, Kukah acknowledged Nigeria’s deep-seated problems of violence and discrimination but noted that “there are encouraging signs of progress that should be strengthened, not punished.”
“Re-designating Nigeria a Country of Concern will only make our work in the area of dialogue among religious leaders even harder,” he said. “It will increase tensions, sow doubt, open windows of suspicion and fear, and simply allow the criminals and perpetrators of violence to exploit.”
The cleric, who has long championed interfaith harmony, admitted that the Buhari era marked “the worst phase in the history of interfaith relations,” alleging that the former president’s policies “overtly favoured Islam and northern Nigeria.”
However, Kukah commended President Bola Tinubu for taking steps to rebuild trust, citing inclusive appointments of Christians to key national positions and his empathetic visit to Benue after the Yelwata killings as “a departure from Buhari’s silence and indifference.”
He said while persecution still exists in parts of the North, “Nigeria’s crisis is driven as much by poverty, weak governance, and organized crime as by religion.”
Kukah urged the US to support Nigeria’s efforts to rebuild trust rather than “stigmatize” it through punitive designations. “Let Nigeria be judged not only by its wounds, but by its willingness to heal,” he said. “We should be supported and encouraged, not punished.”