Bishop Kukah recently came under criticism after being
quoted as urging the international community not to designate Nigeria as a
“country of particular concern,” arguing that such a label would heighten
tensions, breed suspicion, and allow criminals to exploit the
situation—ultimately undermining interfaith dialogue and cooperation with
government.

Speaking while presenting a paper at the 46th Supreme
Convention of the Knights of St. Mulumba (KSM) in Kaduna, he stated that on the
issue of alleged Christian killings in Nigeria, he aligns fully with the
Vatican Secretary of State, the President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference
of Nigeria, and all Catholic bishops in the country.

He said: “They are saying that 1,200 churches are burnt in
Nigeria every year, and I ask myself—in which Nigeria? Interestingly, nobody
approached the Catholic Church to get accurate data. We do not know where these
figures came from. All those talking about persecution—has anyone ever called
to ask, ‘Bishop Kukah, what is the situation?’ The data being circulated
cleverly avoids the Catholic Church because they know Catholics do not indulge
in hearsay.”

Explaining the misuse of the word genocide, he noted:
“Genocide is not based on the number of people killed. You can kill 10 million
people and it still won’t amount to genocide. The critical determinant is
intent—whether the aim is to eliminate a group of people. So, you don’t
determine genocide by numbers; you determine it by intention. We need to be
more clinical in the issues we discuss.”

He further challenged the narrative of Christian persecution
in the country: “If you are a Christian in Nigeria and you say you are
persecuted, my question is: how? At least 80% of educated Nigerians are
Christians, and up to 85% of the Nigerian economy is controlled by Christians.
With such figures, how can anyone say Christians are being persecuted?”

Bishop Kukah attributed many challenges faced by Christians
to internal disunity, saying: “The main problem is that Christians succumb to
bullies. The day we decide to stand together—believing that an injury to one is
an injury to all—these things will stop.”

He also criticized loose claims of martyrdom: “Because
someone is killed in a church, does that automatically make them a martyr?
Whether you are killed while stealing someone’s yam or attacked by bandits,
does that qualify as martyrdom? I am worried because we must think more
deeply.”

Clarifying misconceptions about his earlier remarks, he
added: “People say there is genocide in Nigeria. What I presented at the
Vatican was a 1,270-page study on genocide in Nigeria and elsewhere. My
argument is that it is not accurate to claim there is genocide or martyrdom in
Nigeria.”

Bishop Kukah urged members of the Knights of St. Mulumba to
defend the Church through exemplary conduct: “We are no longer talking about
wielding swords, but about living as true witnesses.”