Hoodlums didn’t burn the residence of the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Father Matthew Kukah, during the violent protests that rocked the state capital on Saturday.
This was disclosed in a statement signed by Reverent Father Christopher A. Omotasho, Director of the Directorate of Social Communication of the Diocese.
This is following rumors that the residence of the Sokoto bishop was razed by violent protesters on Saturday.
The protest was triggered by the arrest of two persons by the police over the killing of Deborah Samuel, a 200-level student of Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto, over alleged blasphemy.
Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal had imposed a 24-hour curfew in the metropolis to curtail the violence.
The statement said, “contrary to information in circulation, we wish to disclaim that there was an attack of any sort on the residence of Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah.”
The church, however, said during the protest, groups of youths led by some adults in the background attacked the Holy Family Catholic Cathedral at Bello Way, destroying church glass windows, those of the Bishop Lawton Secretariat and vandalized a community bus parked within the premises.
“St. Kevin’s Catholic Church Gidan Dere, Eastern By-pass, was also attacked and partly burnt; windows or the new hospital complex under construction, in the same premises were shattered.
“The hoodlums also attacked the Bakhita Centre located along Aliyu Jodi Road and burnt down a bus within the premises but they were promptly dispersed by a team of Mobile Policemen before they could do further damage,” the statement said.
Bishop Kukah, however, commended Tambuwal for acting promptly by declaring the 24-hour curfew to stem the protests.
The cleric also commended the security forces for promptly rising to the occasion to prevent further damage at our facilities.
