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Reactions have continued to trail the recent appeal by the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Most Rev. Matthew Hassan Kukah, to the United States not to designate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC), over alleged violations of Christian religious freedom
One of the reactions came from a civil rights activist, Dr Thompson Udenwa expressed surprise over Bishop Kukah’s sudden change of tone, knowing his long standing position on the matter of religious freedom in Nigeria.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday, Dr. Udenwa recalled that only a few years ago, the outspoken cleric had been at the forefront of those urging the United States Government to designate Nigeria under the CPC category due to widespread attacks on Christian communities, church burnings, and targeted killings in parts of the North and Middle Belt.
Dr. Udenwa was reacting to Bishop Kukah’s speech at the launch of the Aid to the Church in Need (ACIN) 2025 World Report on Religious Freedom in the World at the Augustinianum Hall in Vatican City, in which he declared that religious persecution in Nigeria “remains real, but not total” and that designating Nigeria as a country of concern would “hurt ongoing efforts” to promote dialogue, national healing, and interfaith understanding under the current Bola Tinubu administration.
Bishop Kukah had argued in his speech that although Nigeria remained deeply troubled by violence, discrimination, and insecurity, there were 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,” Mr Kukah said.
“It will increase tensions, sow doubt, open windows of suspicion and fear, and simply allow the criminals and perpetrators of violence to exploit. What Nigeria needs now is vigilance and partnership, not punishment,” he insited.
Udenwas, in his statement, however put Kukah to task, questioning why the same bishop who in 2021 addressed the American Congress where he lamented the Buhari administration’s alleged indifference to Christian persecution would now advocate against the very measure he once described as “moral justice.” According to him, such inconsistency weakens the credibility of religious advocacy and suggests that Bishop Kukah’s views are influenced more by personal or political sentiments than by principle.
He said: “While I distance myself from the political undercurrents in the ongoing debate, I find Bishop Kukah’s recent statement troubling,” Udenwa said. “Not long ago, he stood as one of the loudest voices calling for international recognition of the persecution of Christians in Nigeria. Today, he appears to have retreated from that conviction.”
Udenwa further noted that Bishop Kukah’s latest comments came during the launch of the Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) 2025 World Report on Religious Freedom held at the Augustinianum Hall, Vatican City, on October 21, 2025, where he acknowledged Nigeria’s deep-seated security and governance challenges but urged the international community not to punish the country through sanctions or diplomatic isolation.
In the speech, now being regarded as controversial, Bishop Kukah had argued: “designating my country, Nigeria, a Country of Concern will only make our work in the area of dialogue among religious leaders in our country and elsewhere with the Nigerian state even harder. It will only increase tensions, sow doubt, open windows of suspicion and fear, and simply allow the criminals and perpetrators of violence to exploit.”
Udenwa, who took cognizance of Bishop Kukah’s emphasis on dialogue and cooperation, however noted that such arguments could embolden the Nigerian government to continue avoiding accountability for the growing number of unprosecuted attacks against communities of all faiths.
According to him, “Bishop Kukah by his volte-face, has demonstrated that religious leaders should be selfless and consistent in their advocacy at all times,” Udenwa maintained. “What is truth should be upheld as truth. They should not be seen as shifting moral grounds depending on who is in power or what political relationships are at stake.”
Udenwa urged all faith leaders to resist the temptation of selective criticism and to maintain integrity in speaking truth to power, regardless of changing political climates, citing the pay toed by Bishop Kukah in canvassing for the sanctions back then and his new role in the campaign to avert the sanctions they wrought for the nation.
He referred to a recently released book, “According to the President-Lessons From a Presidential Spokesman’s Experience,” pages 150-155 by a former presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu as having illustrated the unpatriotic actions of the Bishop which have paved way for the Trump administration’s contemplated actions which are haunting Nigeria.
