A Nigerian Catholic Bishop, Mathew Kukah, has denied calling for a coup to remove President Muhammadu Buhari from power.
Kukah, who is the bishop of Sokoto Diocese of the Catholic Church, said his Christmas message had been misunderstood by those who claimed he canvassed a violent overthrow of the Buhari administration.
The clergyman had in the Christmas message accused the administration of nepotism and that the country was on the verge of becoming a failed state under Buhari.
He said if a southerner was the president and had done a quarter of what the president had done there would have been a coup.
For instance, the message did not sit well with some the administration, some individuals and groups.
The Presidency accused Kukah of fanning the embers of hatred, sectarian strife and national disunity.
An Islamic group, Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), in a statement by its Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, described Kukah as a blackmailer and that his statement was “reckless, inflammatory and unguarded.”
Another group, Citizens Conscience Group of Nigeria (CCGN), asked the Department of State Services (DSS) and the police to invite Kukah over his message, saying it was endangering the country’s unity.
However, others hailed him for being bold to tell the truth to the government.
The Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, in a statement by its Director of Social Communication, Father Mike Umoh, defended Kukah, said the prolonged security and economic challenges facing the country was a call for concern.
The General Secretary of Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), Rev. Yunusa Sabo Nmadu (Jnr.), said any attempt by any group or agency of government to arrest or harm Kukah, would be resisted.
But responding to the criticism trailing his message, Kukah said he did not call for a coup.
He said, “If you call for a coup, it means it is something that is not here. It is something that will happen in the future. So is grammar.
“So if I call for it, it means it is not ready. But if I say had it been so, so and so it would have, the tenses are completely different and I maybe probably wrong, if you know better, let me know. So it is unfair for any journalist or newspapers to say that I called for a military coup.”
The cleric said he had no problem with Buhari.