We did not condemn Oritsejafor over $9.3m arms deal: Catholic Bishops

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) has decried the distorted report that credited its President, Most Rev. Ignatius Kaigama, with making a perjorative remark about the President, Christian Association of Nigeria, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor.
The bishops said that Kaigama was not only misquoted but was deliberately credited with statements he never made.
CBCN in a statement by its Director, (Social Communications), Rev. Fr. Chris Anyanwu, CBCN said,
“There is a poison of deliberate misinformation in the air, more deadly than the Ebola Virus Disease.
“This may be a symptom of how forthcoming political events may be handled in the media. Some persons want to, at all cost, see the North and the South, Christians and Muslims fight. In God’s name it shall not come to be.”
In the report, which was widely published by both print and online media, credited Kaigama of berating Oritsejafor of denting the image of Christianity in Nigeria over the controversial $9.3m allegedly found in the aircraft owned by the CAN President.
According to the organization, such reports by some newspapers as “not only false and malicious, but a calculated attempt to further sow the seed of disharmony between Catholics and the leadership of CAN.”
“While we disassociate ourselves from the newspaper reports, it is important to put the records in the right perspective. Most Rev. Ignatius Kaigama granted an interview with the Hausa BBC Service in Kaduna in which he condemned money laundering, the bishops said in the statement.
It further said, “All that Archbishop Kaigama said about the $9.3m saga was that the matter should be investigated in-depth to avoid insinuations, psychological projections and unhealthy rumours and gossips. A transcription of his interview will reveal that the words attributed to him were a figment of somebody’s imagination.
“He said nothing about Pastor Ayo hobnobbing with Mr. President or dragging CAN to the mud; neither did he mention the pastor’s name or Mr. President’s.
“He (Kaigama) said that the relevant authorities in Nigeria ought to investigate the issue of the $9.3m arms deals saga dispassionately and ensure that those found guilty of money laundering be punished according to the provision of the existing law of our land against money laundering.”
Some sections of Nigerian media have tried to portray CAN president culpable in the alleged transfer of $9.3 million to South Africa despite his explanation that his jet which was used in alleged transfer was under lease to an operator during the incident.