Christian youths under the aegis of the Christian Association of Nigeria (Youth Wing) and the Southern Kaduna People’s Union (SOKAPU) have protested against the reported invitation of the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Mathew Kukah for questioning.
Recall that the Department of State Services (DSS) had reportedly invited Kukah for questioning over his criticism of President Muhammadu Buhari for failing to curb nationwide insecurity.
It was gathered that Kukah’s invitation was linked to his recent comments about President Muhammadu Buhari’s failure to show competence as terrorists, bandits and other violent criminals embark on coordinated and relentless rampage across the country.
“We also have lost count of hundreds of individuals and families who have been kidnapped and live below the radar of publicity.
“Does the President of Nigeria not owe us an explanation and answers as to when the abductions, kidnappings, brutality, senseless, and endless massacres of our citizens will end? We need urgent answers to these questions,” he said.
Although Kukah was yet to honour the invitation, the president of YOWICAN, Mr. Belusochukwu Enwere, said the DSS should also invite popular Islamic cleric, Mr. Ahmad Gumi, who had been fraternising with bandits for questioning.
In a statement entitled ‘We will mobilise Christian youths across the country to answer DSS invitation of Bishop Kukah’, YOWICAN said the bishop committed no offence warrant any questioning.
“The attention of YOWICAN has been drawn to the purported invitation extended to Bishop Hassan Kukah, Bishop of Sokoto Diocese. Bishop Kukah committed no offence; rather the government should channel her energy in the fight to liberate the country from terrorists and bandits.
“Recently, more than 200 people were killed in Zamfara State and villagers displaced. This is disheartening indeed. We will mobilise all Christian youth across the country to honour this invitation.
“The DSS has extended her invitation to us, not Bishop Kukah, and we will honour it. The DSS should first invite Ahmad Gumi for questioning for interfacing with bandits.
“Controversial Islamic cleric, Ahmad Gumi, has advised people in the terrorised North-West of Nigeria on how they can live in peace with the armed bandits occupying their forests,” said Enwere.
He quoted Gumi as saying that people could develop “mutual relationship with the bandits without being harmed”.
He said Gumi had been “fraternising with the bandits and he has been working freely without any invitation from the DSS or police.”
Similarly, the Southern Kaduna People’s Union (SOKAPU) has described the invitation Kukah as a plot to silence him over his comments in recent times.
To this end, the youth advised Kukah not to honour the purported invitation, saying some Nigerians have fallen victim of such invitation.
A statement issued by the SOKAPU national youth leader, Mr. Issac John Sirjay, pointed to the case of late former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr Obadiah Mailafia.
“Lately, we mourned the sudden demise of Dr Obadiah Mailafia…who until his death was a dogged critic of this administration and a regular visitor at one of the DSS facilities.
“Without ruling out any possibility of harm, we consider the invitation of Bishop Kukah by the DSS as one of such ploy designed to silence him at all cost.
“While we urge the Bishop to ignore such invitation by the DSS for the obvious reasons of threat to life and personal safety, we are urging the DSS to focus on the ravaging impact of insecurity, kidnapping and banditry across the country rather than distracting the Bishop who is only pointing the obvious about the decaying state of the country’s security architecture.
“It is rather unfortunate to note that with the recent declaration of bandits as terrorists by President Buhari, we had anticipated an invitation from the DSS to the likes of Sheikh Gumi who has always fronted and still fronts for terrorist bandit groups but the reverse is, however, the case.
“In light of the above, it suffices to state boldly that the DSS has unarguably deviated from its core mandate of protecting national security and has become a willing tool for the suppression of free speech.
“We, therefore, call for an independent investigation into the activities of the Nigerian Department of State Services with a view to restructuring the institution and its mode of operations in line with global best practices,” SOKAPU stated.
