Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Most Reverend Matthew Hassan Kukah, has described Nigeria’s worsening insecurity, governance failures and identity politics as a “theatre of lies” sustained by denial, lack of trust and systemic hypocrisy, warning that the country is fast normalizing collective humiliation.

Speaking in an exclusive interview on Frontline, a currents affairs programme on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese Ijebu on Friday, Kukah argued that Nigeria’s crisis is not fundamentally about religion, but about disobedience to moral values, state failure and the erosion of trust between government and citizens.

Drawing from decades of academic engagement, the bishop recalled that his doctoral research later published as Religion, Politics and Power in Northern Nigeria had already anticipated the dangerous intersection of faith and governance.

“Religion comes before politics. The pulpit comes before the political podium. The problem is not religion interfering in politics, but politicians disobeying what they hear in churches and mosques.”

According to Kukah, places of worship are meant to function as “filling stations” for moral values, equipping citizens with the ethics required to build a just society. Where conflict exists, he said, it is the result of citizens abandoning those values once they leave the pulpit.

“Wherever you see conflict, it is a conflict between obedience and disobedience.”

Kaduna Abductions and the Collapse of Credibility

Reacting to the reported abduction of over 170 worshippers in Kaduna State — initially denied by security agencies before later confirmation — Kukah said the episode exposes Nigeria’s broken crisis management system and a deep credibility deficit.

“Something happened. People were abducted in a church. Government preferred denial. The church insisted it happened. That triangle of lies and truth explains why Nigeria is where it is.”

He warned that security agencies’ instinct to suppress bad news in order to “look good” has worsened public distrust.

“You cannot be embarrassed about the injury or death of Nigerian citizens. Covering wounds does not heal them. It only shows in the way you walk.”

Kukah dismissed official claims of “kinetic and non-kinetic strategies” as empty jargon, noting that no one has clearly explained what those terms mean, while kidnappings continue unchecked.

“I’m sure I’ll be surprised if somebody doesn’t name their child kinetic. Because everywhere you talk, the security agencies say, oh, we are employing kinetic and non-kinetic methods of… Nobody has explained to us what kinetic and non-kinetic is. But that war has been… Their assumption, of course, is that the distinction between ordinary intelligence, the things people say, that is the distinction between the software and the hardware of resolving conflict. But what that tells you is that there is a breakdown of trust.”

“How do you move 170 adults in Nigeria today and say you are looking for them? In the Arizona desert, a rat cannot move without being detected.”

He described Nigeria’s situation as globally disgraceful, questioning how mass abductions have become routine.

“But I think finally it is to make the point that just yesterday we were talking about Papi, where all these children were kidnapped, were kept somewhere. And then they came out looking as if they had just come back from a camp. They had returned to us. We are all celebrating. That seems to have gone now. The question to ask ourselves is, how is it possible to move a hundred and seventy something adults in a country like Nigeria for goodness sake? How do you explain that? And now we are hypocritically saying we are trying to locate these people. In the Arizona desert in America, a rat, a cat cannot run around without being detected”

He further questioned; Name one African country where you say that they kidnapped ten people today, twenty people tomorrow, ten people. What really is going on? And then tomorrow these guys are going to come back and we’ll all break into dance and celebration, rejoicing that only to wait for the next situation. This theater would have been amusing if it weren’t about life and death. So, it’s shameful, it’s disgraceful, it’s embarrassing. No Nigerian, whether in office or out of office, can find an excuse for this collective humiliation. The international community is looking at us. People are reading all these stories on a daily basis. Which country functions like this? Even if we were in an animal kingdom. If you take the child of a lion, can you get away with it? So, how would we be dealing with a situation in which ordinary people, people who have come from the cave, are the ones who are now literally dictating how life should be in Nigeria”.

Bandit Amnesty: Rewarding Criminality

On reports that the Katsina State Government approved the release of suspected bandits as part of a peace initiative, Kukah warned that Nigeria has developed a dangerous culture of rewarding criminality.

“This is a country that has become used to rewarding malfeasance. It shows in appointments, elections, and now in security.”

He argued that security responses across states are fragmented and intellectually incoherent, lacking a unified national framework.

“Rivers cannot be doing one thing and Yobe another. Whatever states are doing must fit into a national architecture. That is not happening.”

Kukah also criticised Nigeria’s deradicalisation programmes, saying many repentant fighters are returned to communities that reject them, creating further instability.

“You cannot pour new wine into old wineskins.”

Drawing parallels with the Niger Delta amnesty, he warned that violence has become a pathway to wealth, encouraging younger criminals.

“Boys of yesterday are now multi-billionaires. The message is clear: if you fight long enough, you will be rewarded.”

“Stop Nigerians from Dying”

On claims of Christian genocide, Kukah rejected the fixation on terminology, insisting that the obsession with labels distracts from the real crisis.

“I am not interested in definitions. Whether you call it genocide, persecution or mass atrocities, Nigerians are dying. That is what must stop.”

He aligned with the position of the Vatican and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, stressing that security must be framed as a national, not religious, issue.

“I do not want Christians to stop dying while others are dying. Nobody should die because of their religion.”

Kukah warned that deepening Christian–Muslim binaries could push Nigeria into an irreversible identity trap.

“We are not the only country with Christians and Muslims. Why is it only Nigeria that functions like this?”

Lessons from Rwanda

Referencing Rwanda’s post-genocide recovery, Kukah highlighted President Paul Kagame’s decision to abolish ethnic labels as a key lesson for Nigeria.

“Kagame said: no more Hutu, no more Tutsi. We are all Rwandans.”

He argued that Nigeria’s elites weaponise identity only when convenient, particularly to escape accountability.

“When they are stealing money in Abuja, they are not Christians or Muslims. They are just thieves.”

Kukah with a blunt assessment of Nigeria’s trajectory, warned against external salvation narratives.

“I am not interested in America rescuing Christians. I am interested in restoring peace in Nigeria.”

Without honesty, coordination and moral courage, he said, Nigeria risks remaining trapped in a cycle of violence, denial and humiliation.

“We have not decided, as a country, how to resolve this issue. Until we do, we are all complicit.”

Disputed Sokoto Airstrikes

Kukah rejected claims surrounding disputed airstrikes in Sokoto State, warning against unverified narratives that could further inflame national tension.

“I am not saying something happened or didn’t happen. But have we seen the strike? Have we seen the bodies?” Kukah asked, stressing that journalism must be grounded in evidence, not emotion. “Not everybody who claims to wish Nigeria well actually does.”

According to the cleric, Nigeria’s greatest security challenge is not lack of firepower or intelligence, but systemic compromise involving political elites, security agencies, traditional authorities and even religious leaders.

“Our problem is not lack of capacity. Our problem is serious compromise,” he said. “Some of these people are wearing uniforms. Some are sitting in high places. They are sponsoring this evil, and they can be fished out, no matter the position they hold.”

Kukah was blunt in his assessment of the epicentre of Nigeria’s security crisis, declaring Northern Nigeria the country’s primary crime scene, while urging residents to confront uncomfortable truths.

“We must accept that the north is the crime scene. These are our children. They have fathers, mothers, uncles. They are among us,” he said. “Nigeria has become a slaughterhouse, and we are deceiving ourselves if we think this is happening everywhere else.”

Insecurity Rooted in Poverty and Governance Failure, Not Religion

He dismissed attempts to frame insecurity solely in religious terms, arguing that banditry and kidnapping are products of poverty, illiteracy, governance failure and elite manipulation, not faith.

“Religion can no longer be the basis for building a nation that is collapsing before our eyes,” Kukah warned. “No kingdom will survive in this world based on religion or ethnicity.”

The bishop criticised what he described as the instrumentalisation of religion and identity in Nigerian politics, tracing its consequences to policies of exclusion and domination.

“If you privilege one religion and one region, you create the conditions for extremism,” he said, referencing past administrations. “That is how Boko Haram was fuelled — not by sermons, but by power imbalance.”

Muslim–Muslim Ticket

On Nigeria’s controversial Muslim–Muslim presidential ticket, Kukah argued that symbolic balance alone cannot rescue the country, insisting that competence and character must trump identity.

“Balance of what?” he asked. “We are balancing corruption. What we need is balance of justice, fairness and equity.”

While acknowledging concerns raised by Christians, Kukah noted that religious identity has not prevented engagement or inclusion under the current administration.

“Christians did not take to the streets. And in fairness, hands of friendship have been extended,” he said, citing symbolic gestures such as presidential engagement with Christian institutions.

On governance, Kukah said Nigeria’s democracy is being weakened by poor communication and lack of measurable impact, particularly following the removal of fuel subsidy.

“People were told the journey would be hard, but nobody explained the road map,” he said. “There was food in the market, but no money in people’s pockets.”

He warned that rising government revenues mean little if ordinary Nigerians continue to struggle.

“The basket is full, but the people are not eating,” Kukah said. “Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink.”

Addressing the role of religion in politics, Kukah defended the presence of politicians in churches but rejected the use of pulpits as campaign platforms.

“Once you enter the house of God, you enter as a sinner looking for mercy,” he said. “God does not have governors or presidents.”

He emphasised that in the Catholic Church, strict rules prohibit political endorsements or campaign speeches from the altar.

On rebuilding trust between citizens and the state, Kukah argued that Nigeria relies too heavily on moral preaching instead of law enforcement.

“We substitute moral exhortation for law,” he said. “The church cannot do the work of the police or the judiciary.”

According to him, Nigeria’s crisis persists because laws are rarely enforced.

“Here, you can break the law and nothing happens. We live under the rule of men, not the rule of law,” Kukah said. “In societies governed by law, you don’t break the law — the law breaks you.”

Foreign Intervention Will Not Save Nigeria

He also dismissed expectations that foreign powers, particularly the United States, would resolve Nigeria’s internal problems.

“America has no agenda to save Nigeria,” Kukah stated. “They have their own interests. No country comes into your house and leaves without kicking something.”

Kukah cautioned against what he described as a “crusader mentality” that imagines foreign intervention as a solution to Nigeria’s security challenges.

“Christians will not live on another planet,” he said. “This is our country, and we must fix it.”

He therefore urged Nigerians to resist despair, engage power constructively and continue demanding accountability, even in a deeply flawed system.

“Justice is not given. Justice is fought for,” Kukah said. “No Nigerian is too small to seek justice. Don’t give up, no matter how toxic the environment.”