President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime says Matthew Kukah, Archbishop of Sokoto Diocese, lied in his Easter homily regarding Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East.

“But, in saying that the Boko Haram terrorism is worse than it was in 2015, he did not speak like a man of God.

Mr Kukah had accused the regime of rehabilitating and releasing repentant Boko Haram insurgents, neglecting their victims.

A statement by Mr Buhari’s media aide, Garba Shehu, noted that Mr Kukah said things “inexplicable” things in his Easter message.

According to Mr Shehu, it is wrong for Mr Kukah to have stated that “the Boko Haram terrorism is worse than it was in 2015.”

He urged well-meaning citizens to continue to support the ongoing efforts by Mr Buhari’s administration to secure the country and move it forward.

“But if you profess to being a man of God, as Father Mathew Hassan Kukah does, ideology should not stand in the way of facts and fairness.

“Father Kukah has said some things that are inexplicable in his Easter message. But, in saying that the Boko Haram terrorism is worse than it was in 2015, he did not speak like a man of God.

“Kukah should go to Borno or Adamawa to ask the citizens there the difference between 2014 and 2021,” Mr Shehu said.

On the Kwara hijab crisis, which Kukah also touched on, Mr Shehu pointed out that it was a state matter that courts had adjudicated.

“They are matters that have appeared in several states as far back as the Obasanjo administration. In all of that, when and where did the name of President Buhari feature?

“He (Kukah) is playing partisan politics by dragging the President (Buhari) into it,” explained Mr Shehu.

He added, “An administration that has created a whole ministry, for the first time in the country’s history, appropriating enormous resources to it, to deal with issues of internally displaced persons cannot, in all rightfulness, be accused of not caring for them.

“Some of the comments are no more than a sample of the unrestrained rhetoric Fr. Kukah trades in, which he often does in the guise of a homily.”

(NAN)