Shocking Denial: Pastor Adeboye Clears Air on Alleged Jonathan Protest!
Pastor Enoch Adeboye has clarified that a widely circulated photograph showing him with a placard was taken during a 2020 prayer walk against insecurity under President Buhari, not a protest against Goodluck Jonathan as a journalist misrepresented. He emphasized the importance of verifying information and establishing the correct context of public actions.
The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has provided a detailed clarification regarding a photograph depicting him holding a placard. He asserted that the image was captured during a prayer walk against insecurity in 2020, under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, and not, as a journalist allegedly misrepresented, during the tenure of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Adeboye explained that this misrepresentation led many Nigerians to mistakenly believe he had protested against Jonathan, portraying him in a negative light. Speaking at an RCCG thanksgiving service, the cleric recounted how the journalist's claim labeled him as a "very wicked man" for supposedly protesting against Jonathan. He firmly stated, "True, I carried a placard. I can’t deny that. It was not a protest; it was a prayer walk. We wanted to pray."
He further elaborated that the prayer walk was an initiative of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), which had directed churches to organize similar events in their respective localities. Pastor Adeboye participated in the exercise held at Ebute Metta, Lagos. He stressed the chronological inaccuracy of the journalist's narrative, pointing out that the photograph was taken in 2020, five years after Jonathan concluded his presidency in 2015, and well into Buhari’s second term.
Expressing concern over the spread of this misleading narrative, Adeboye criticized the journalist for failing to verify the facts surrounding the event. He highlighted his own background in journalism studies during his university days, underscoring the critical importance of factual verification before publication. This incident, he noted, underscores the necessity of establishing the correct context and date of photographs before drawing conclusions about public figures and their actions.
It is on record that in February 2020, Pastor Adeboye indeed led RCCG members in a public demonstration to address the escalating insecurity across Nigeria, drawing attention to the severe loss of lives due to insurgency and various security challenges. At that time, Muhammadu Buhari was the sitting president, serving from 2015 to 2023, while Goodluck Jonathan's presidential term had ended in 2015.