The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has denied carrying a placard in protest against former President Goodluck Jonathan, explaining that the photograph circulating online was taken during a prayer walk in 2020.
Adeboye gave the clarification on Sunday, November 1, during the church’s November Thanksgiving service, where he criticised reports linking the photograph to Jonathan’s administration.
The cleric admitted carrying the placard but insisted that the exercise was a religious activity organised to pray against insecurity and killings in Nigeria, rather than a political demonstration against any government.
“True, I carried a placard. I can’t deny that. It was important. It was a prayer walk. We wanted to pray,” he said.
Adeboye explained that the exercise followed a directive from the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) asking churches to organise prayer walks. He said the event took place in 2020, during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, five years after Jonathan left office in May 2015.
The prayer walk was held on February 2, 2020, in Lagos. Adeboye led RCCG members from the church’s national headquarters in Ebute Meta towards Atan Cemetery in Yaba before returning to the church. Photographs from the exercise showed him carrying a placard bearing the inscription, “All Souls Are Precious to God”.
The cleric accused journalists of misrepresenting the date and circumstances of the event, saying the report had created the false impression that he protested against Jonathan while he was president. He also urged media practitioners to investigate claims and verify information before publication.
Adeboye recalled his exposure to journalism studies in the 1960s, stressing that journalists have a responsibility to establish the facts before taking stories to the public.
The clarification follows the circulation of the photograph on social media amid criticism of the cleric over his public comments on insecurity and governance in Nigeria. An earlier fact-check by Africa Check also found no evidence that Adeboye participated in a street protest against Jonathan’s administration.