General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, has criticised journalists over what he described as misleading reports and selective presentation of his public statements. Speaking about two separate incidents, Adeboye challenged claims that he had carried a placard in protest against former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, insisting that the photograph being circulated was from a prayer walk in 2020, five years after Jonathan left office.
“It Wasn’t a Protest. It Was a Prayer Walk”
Adeboye recounted how someone recently described him as a wicked man, citing a photograph in which he appeared dressed in white and green while carrying a placard.
The claim, according to him, was that he had previously protested against Jonathan. Adeboye acknowledged that he did carry a placard but disputed the interpretation attached to the photograph. “True, I carried a placard. I can’t deny that. It wasn’t protest. It was a prayer walk,” he explained. He said the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) chairman had directed churches to organise prayer walks around their respective locations, and he participated in the exercise in Ebute Meta. Adeboye stressed that the photograph was from 2020, whereas Jonathan ceased to be president in 2015.
“I carried a placard in 2020. Jonathan ceased to be president in 2015. I carried a placard five years in the second term of Buhari,” he said.
“Nobody Checked”: Adeboye Reminds Journalists About Investigative Journalism
The RCCG leader said the incident reminded him of what he learnt about investigative journalism while studying at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in the 1960s. He recalled that students could take courses across different faculties to broaden their knowledge. During that period, he attended a journalism class where he learnt about investigative journalism and the importance of verifying information before publishing a story.
He said the lesson was that things might not always be as they appear and that journalists should investigate before taking stories to the press. Adeboye expressed disappointment that the photograph and the accompanying claim were accepted without proper checks. “I’m talking to those of you in the creative industry. Nobody checked,” he said.
“I Spoke for Thirty Minutes, They Used Less Than Five”
Adeboye also criticised media coverage of remarks he made during an engagement abroad with some highly placed Americans concerning children who had been kidnapped in Nigeria. He recalled that another speaker had addressed the issue before him, claiming that nothing was being done for the victims.
When it was his turn to speak, Adeboye said he responded that God was already at work concerning the kidnapped children. He also shared what he described as a revelation he had received after praying for them, declaring that none of the children would die and that they would return alive. He then used the response of former US President Donald Trump to illustrate his argument about the responsibilities of a commander-in-chief after giving instructions to military officers.
Adeboye said he argued that Nigeria’s president had also given instructions to security officers to rescue the children and should not be blamed as though no action had been taken. However, he said his wider remarks were reduced to a short report suggesting that he had declared the president had done his best.
“One, I wouldn’t want to use the word mischievous. Somebody took that, what I said in less than five minutes, as if it is the whole speech, and said, ‘Pastor Adeboye said the president has done his best.’ And you all swallowed it,” he said.
“We Still Need Help, But Don’t Bomb Us Anymore”
Adeboye further recalled that his speech also included an appeal to the American president to continue supporting Nigeria, while making it clear that military action against the country was not what he was asking for.
He said he thanked the American president for his assistance but emphasised that Nigeria still needed help, particularly in dealing with those sponsoring terrorism. “If you want to help us, help us take care of those who are sponsoring terrorists,” he recalled saying. He expressed frustration that these portions of his speech were not given the same attention as the brief comments attributed to him about the Nigerian president.
Concluding his remarks, Adeboye called on journalists to exercise greater responsibility by investigating stories, presenting statements in their proper context and avoiding selective reporting. “God have mercy on journalists,” he said.
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