The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has accused journalists of misrepresenting the date he carried a placard during a prayer walk, alleging that the report falsely linked the incident to former President Goodluck Jonathan\u2019s administration.\n<\/p>\n
Adeboye said the incident occurred in 2020, five years after Jonathan left office in 2015, insisting that the walk was organised to pray against insecurity and killings in the country.\n<\/p>\n
The cleric spoke to his congregation on Sunday during the church\u2019s November Thanksgiving service, where he recounted how the report portrayed him as a wicked man for carrying a placard allegedly against the former president.\n<\/p>\n
He said the report gained widespread acceptance without journalists verifying the circumstances surrounding the incident.<\/p>\n
\u201cRecently, just one mischievous somebody wrote in the papers, or said somehow, \u2018Pastor Adeboye is a very wicked man. After all, we know that not too long ago, he carried a placard against President Goodluck Jonathan,’\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n
Adeboye said he initially smiled when he learnt about the report, insisting that although he carried a placard, the incident was a prayer walk rather than a protest against Jonathan.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cTrue, I carried a placard. I can\u2019t deny that. It was important. It was a prayer walk. We wanted to pray,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He explained that the exercise followed a directive for churches to organise prayer walks around their premises.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThe chairman said all churches should do a prayer walk near their churches. That\u2019s what I did,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The cleric said the date of the incident contradicted the claim that he had carried the placard against Jonathan while he was president.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I carried the placard in 2020. Jonathan ceased to be president in 2015. I carried the placard five years in the second term of Buhari,\u201d Adeboye said.\n<\/p>\n
He accused the journalist of twisting the facts and criticised the failure to investigate the circumstances before publishing the report.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cBut a journalist twisted it. I said, I did what I did in 2015. And everybody swallowed it,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n
Adeboye also recalled his exposure to journalism studies in the 1960s, saying he learnt about investigative journalism and the need to verify information before publication.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember in those days in the Department of Journalism, when you go there and you take a course, they talked about something called investigative journalism,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
He added, \u201cThat things don\u2019t appear as they may seem. Investigate, if you have a story, before you take it to the press.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Addressing members of the creative industry, Adeboye expressed disappointment that the report had been accepted without proper checks.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m talking to those of you in the creative industry. Nobody checked,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n
On February 2, 2020, Adeboye led members of the RCCG on a prayer walk in Lagos to express concern over killings and insecurity across Nigeria.\n<\/p>\n
The exercise followed a three-day fasting and prayer programme declared by the Christian Association of Nigeria to seek divine intervention and strengthen efforts to tackle terrorism and other security challenges.\n<\/p>\n
According to reports published at the time, the procession began at the RCCG\u2019s national headquarters in Ebute Meta, Lagos, proceeded towards Atan Cemetery in Yaba and returned to the church.<\/p>\n
Photographs from the event showed Adeboye carrying a placard bearing the inscription, \u201cAll Souls Are Precious to God.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
The walk took place during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, who succeeded Jonathan in May 2015.\n<\/p>\n
The photograph subsequently circulated on social media alongside claims that Adeboye had protested against Jonathan\u2019s government.\n<\/p>\n
Watch the video below:\n<\/p>\n
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Credit: Facebook | Pastor E A Adeboye
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