Adeboye Fires Back at Journalists Over Viral Jonathan Protest Photo, Says It Was Prayer Walk

Adeboye Fires Back at Journalists Over Viral Jonathan Protest Photo, Says It Was Prayer Walk

The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has denied participating in a protest against former President Goodluck Jonathan, explaining that a widely circulated photograph showing him carrying a placard was taken during a prayer walk in 2020, five years after Jonathan left office.

Adeboye made the clarification on Sunday, November 1, 2026, during the church’s November Thanksgiving Service, where he accused some journalists of misrepresenting the circumstances surrounding the photograph and misleading Nigerians.

The cleric acknowledged carrying a placard during the exercise but insisted that it was not a political protest against Jonathan’s administration, as claimed in reports and social media discussions.

According to him, the exercise was a prayer walk organised in response to a directive from the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) asking churches across the country to hold prayer walks around their locations to seek divine intervention over insecurity and killings.

Adeboye explained that he participated in the exercise around the RCCG headquarters in Ebute Meta, Lagos, rather than leading a demonstration against any government.

He expressed surprise that the photograph had been repeatedly presented as evidence that he protested against Jonathan, who left office in May 2015.

“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 said.

The RCCG leader explained that the exercise took place in 2020, during the second term of former President Muhammadu Buhari, and not during Jonathan’s administration.

He criticised the journalist responsible for the report, accusing the individual of failing to establish the actual date and circumstances of the event before publishing the story.

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Adeboye recalled that when he first heard the allegation, he found it amusing because the dates alone contradicted the claim.

He said the photograph was taken five years after Jonathan had left office, questioning how the exercise could have been presented as a protest against the former president.

The cleric also recalled his experience as an undergraduate at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) in the 1960s, where he said he had opportunities to attend courses in other departments to broaden his knowledge.

He specifically recalled lessons on investigative journalism, stressing that journalists should investigate claims and establish facts before presenting them to the public.

According to him, the controversy demonstrated how an inaccurate report could gain widespread acceptance when readers and media practitioners failed to verify the original circumstances.

He lamented that many Nigerians accepted the narrative without checking when the photograph was taken or the purpose of the gathering.

“That means that things don’t appear as they may seem. Investigate, if you have a story, before you take it to the press,” he recalled from his journalism lessons.

Adeboye subsequently expressed disappointment over the way sections of the media reported his statements and concluded his criticism with the remark, “God have mercy on journalists.”

The photograph at the centre of the controversy was taken during a prayer walk on February 2, 2020, when Adeboye led RCCG members in Lagos to express concern over insecurity, killings and other security challenges in Nigeria.

The exercise followed a three-day fasting and prayer programme declared by CAN. Reports published at the time indicated that the procession began at the RCCG national headquarters in Ebute Meta, proceeded towards Atan Cemetery in Yaba and returned to the church.

Photographs from the event showed Adeboye carrying a placard bearing the inscription, “All Souls Are Precious to God.”

The prayer walk took place under Buhari’s administration, which succeeded Jonathan’s government in May 2015.

The controversy has resurfaced amid criticism from some Nigerians who have questioned Adeboye’s public comments on the economic difficulties and insecurity under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Some social media users had contrasted the cleric’s participation in the 2020 prayer walk with what they described as his perceived reluctance to organise similar public demonstrations over the country’s current challenges.

Others had alleged that his position towards Tinubu’s administration was influenced by shared Yoruba heritage and the fact that the First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, is an ordained assistant pastor in the RCCG.

Adeboye’s latest clarification, however, focused on correcting the historical claim that he carried the placard in protest against Jonathan.

The cleric also addressed reports about his comments on the abduction of schoolchildren and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, accusing some media organisations of taking portions of his speech out of context.

He said he had spoken about the abduction during an engagement in the United States, where he met some highly placed American officials.

According to him, he challenged the suggestion that nothing was being done to rescue the abducted children, saying he believed efforts were already underway to secure their release.

Adeboye said he had prayed for the victims and expressed confidence that they would return alive.

He also explained his comments about US President Donald Trump’s earlier directive to American military officials concerning possible air strikes against terrorists in Nigeria.

The cleric said his comparison between Trump’s directive and President Tinubu’s response to the kidnapping was intended to explain the responsibilities of the two commanders-in-chief after issuing instructions to their security personnel.

He argued that Tinubu had directed security officials to rescue the abducted children and should be allowed to expect them to carry out the assignment.

However, Adeboye complained that reports focused on a brief portion of his lengthy address, presenting him as saying that Tinubu had done everything necessary to address insecurity.

He insisted that his broader message included an appeal for continued American assistance to Nigeria, particularly in addressing those sponsoring terrorism.

The cleric said he had thanked the US for its intervention but also maintained that Washington needed to do more to help Nigeria tackle insecurity.

He argued that the United States should extend its assistance beyond military strikes to addressing the financiers and sponsors of terrorist activities.

Adeboye’s comments have renewed discussions about the responsibilities of religious leaders, media accuracy and the importance of verifying public statements before drawing conclusions about their positions on political and national issues.

Adeboye Fires Back at Journalists Over Viral Jonathan Protest Photo, Says It Was Prayer Walk