Nigerian Government Are ‘Islamic Fundamentalists Without Bombs’, Says Bishop

The Catholic Herald (UK) ^ | 1/3/20 | Fionn Shiner

[marshmallow]

'The only difference between the government and Boko Haram is Boko Haram is holding a bomb,' Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah claimed

The beheading of 10 Christians by Islamist militants in Nigeria has sparked a condemnation by a bishop who accuses the government of using different methods to achieve the same goal of Islamic dominance.

In the wake of the Christmas Day attack by Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and an attack by Boko Haram on Christmas Eve, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of Sokoto told Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need of his disgust with the authorities.

He said: “The only difference between the government and Boko Haram is Boko Haram is holding a bomb.”

He added: “They are using the levers of power to secure the supremacy of Islam, which then gives more weight to the idea that it can be achieved by violence. With the situation in Nigeria, it is hard to see the moral basis they have to defeat Boko Haram.

“They have created the conditions to make it possible for Boko Haram to behave the way they are behaving.”

On Boxing Day 2019, ISWAP released a video beheading 10 Christians and shooting one Muslim, saying they were avenging the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghadi, Daesh (ISIS)’s leader, and other senior Daesh members killed during a US raid in October.

This followed a Christmas Eve attack by Boko Haram in which seven were killed.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks marshmallow.