SOKAPU alleges plot by DSS to kill Kukah through invitation

Stop harassing Christian clerics, HURIWA tells agency

YOUTH wing of the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union ( SOKAPU) has condemned the purported invitation of the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Dr. Matthew Hassan Kukah, by the Department of State Services ( DSS) for questioning, apparently over his comments in recent times.

SOKAPU National Youth Leader, Isaac John Sirjay, alleged, at the weekend, that the invitation might be a ploy to kill the outspoken Catholic bishop.

However, the youths advised Kukah not to honour the purported invitation, saying that some Nigerians had fallen victim of such invitation, citing the late Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN), Dr. Obadiah Mailafia.

“Lately, we mourned Mailafia, who, until his death, was a dogged critic of this administration and a regular visitor at DSS facilities. Without ruling out any possibility of harm, we consider the invitation of Kukah by the DSS as one of such ploys designed to silence him at all costs.

“While we urge the bishop to ignore such invitation by the DSS for personal safety, we urge the DSS to focus on the ravaging insecurity across the country, rather than distracting the bishop, who is only pointing the obvious about the decaying state of the country’s security architecture,” the youths said.

MEANWHILE, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria ( HURIWA) has asked the DSS to stop the harassment of Christian clerics and to adhere strictly to their duty, which is to prevent terrorists from succeeding in the large- scale carnage and violence against the citizenry.