The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has denied reports that he protested against former President Goodluck Jonathan, insisting that a photograph showing him carrying a placard was taken during a prayer walk in 2020.
During the church’s November 2026 Thanksgiving Service earlier today, Pastor Adeboye addressed claims circulating on social media about the photograph, which showed him dressed in white and green while holding a placard.
The cleric explained that the exercise was organised following a directive from the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), who had asked churches to hold prayer walks for the country.
He said he joined the exercise to pray for Nigeria rather than protest against any government.
“It wasn’t a protest. It was a prayer walk,” Adeboye said, recalling that the church organised the exercise in response to CAN’s instruction.
He also disputed reports linking the photograph to Jonathan’s administration, pointing out that the former president left office in 2015, five years before the event took place.
Adeboye said the photograph was taken in 2020, during the second term of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
“I carried a placard in 2020, but the journalist twisted it to be 2015,” he said.
The RCCG leader criticised the journalist behind the report, accusing the individual of publishing a misleading account without properly investigating the circumstances surrounding the photograph.
He recalled studying journalism-related courses at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in the 1960s, where he learnt about investigative journalism and the importance of verifying information before publication.
Adeboye said the incident demonstrated how inaccurate reports could gain public acceptance when people failed to establish the facts.
He urged members of the creative industry, particularly journalists, to uphold professional standards by investigating claims and verifying information before publishing them.
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