The Nigerian government is compared to Boko Haram by the Catholic bishop of Sokoto diocese, Matthew Kukah. He made this statement while addressing the Catholic Charity Aid to the Church in Need event in the UK. At the event, Kukah highlighted the killing of 10 Nigerian Christians by the Islamic State West Africa Province on Christmas eve and accused the Nigerian government of pursuing “Islamic dominance like Boko Haram.”
Kukah also pointed out the government’s failure to effectively combat Boko Haram, attributing the group’s increased operations to this negligence. He went on to draw a parallel between the government and Boko Haram, stating that the only difference lies in the fact that Boko Haram is holding a bomb. According to Kukah, the government is using its power to establish the supremacy of Islam, which in turn, reinforces the notion that violence can be used to achieve this goal. He also criticized the government for creating conditions that enable Boko Haram’s actions and emphasized the importance of integrating Christians into positions of authority to prevent the promotion of Islamism.