Reverend Dr. Matthew Hassan Kukah, CON is the current Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sokoto in northwestern Nigeria. He was ordained on December 19, 1976. He was formerly the Secretary General of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria and Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Kaduna until he was ordained as Bishop on September 8, 2011.
Kukah has served in many presidential initiatives such as the Human Rights Violation Investigation Commission, the Electoral Reform Committee and the National Political Reform Conference. He was the presidential facilitator in negotiating an end to the hostilities between Shell Petroleum Development Company and the Ogoni people. He also served on a committee regarding Boko Haram set up by the Northern Governors.
Kukah holds a Bachelor of Divinity from St. Augustine’s Seminary. He earned a Master’s Degree in Peace Studies at the University of Bradford and a Doctorate Degree from the School of Oriental and African Studies. He was a senior Rhodes scholar at St. Antony’s College, Oxford and a Mason Fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, where he earned a Master’s Degree in Public Policy.
He has held various significant positions, including:
• Secretary of the National Political Reform Conference
• Chairman of the Interreligious Dialogue Committees for the Bishops’ Conferences of Nigeria and West Africa
• Member of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue
• Pro Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council, Nassarawa State University, Keffi.
Kukah is known for his advocacy for justice, democracy, and human development.
For Interfaith Dialogue, he has been a strong voice in promoting respectful Christian-Muslim relations and co-existence.
In December 2020, Pope Francis appointed him as a member of the Dicastery on Integral Human Development.
On Monday, 17th March 2025, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah was appointed as the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, Kaduna State and in June 2025, he was conferred with the National Honour of the Commander of the Order of the Niger, CON, respectively by His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR.
Finally, he is author of many books such as Religion, Politics and Power in Northern Nigeria, Democracy and Civil Society in Nigeria, and recently, Witness to Justice. Kukah is also founder of the Kukah Centre, a Public Policy think tank in Abuja, Nigeria.