Bishop Kukah cautions Southern Kaduna youths

The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, Right Reverend Matthew Hassan Kukah, has said the southern Kaduna people have reason to be angry over the killings going on in their land but advised them against taking arms to correct the wrongs.

He said there was no need for the people to blame themselves for the incessant attacks because the responsibility to protect the lives and property of the people lay squarely on the shoulder of the government.

According to him, “government should be held responsible because they buy guns on behalf of the citizens. That is why the police force is entitled to carry guns. If the citizens buy or sell guns, they can be arrested or prosecuted.”

The bishop who made the call during the first provincial music carnival organised by the Kaduna Provincial Catholic Liturgical Music Council with the theme, “Celebrating our Faith in the Midst of Challenges,” in Kafanchan,  urged the people not to resort to violence in trying to correct the wrongs done to them.

“What we need at this moment is a symbolic procession to show our anger by taking over every street in our communities in protest of all that is happening to us because we are really in serious trouble,” the cleric stated.

He challenged Nigerians to ask themselves about their lack of capacity and ability to show revolution, adding that “the issue of security challenges in Southern Kaduna and the nation at large should be  collectively addressed.

“The killings suggest that there is a lot of internal communication going on and how it is done, we don’t know and that is the business of the security agencies. I think there is reason for Nigerians to be angry but we must also sit down and think.

“The issue is that our people are being killed on a daily basis and we cannot run a country in which a government has become so obsolete and totally helpless. There are facilities you can put in place to monitor movements,” Kukah stated.