AN image showing the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, holding placards on the street amid crowds has resurfaced online with claims that he protested against former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.
The cleric has come under fire online following his comment on Nigeria’s naira-to-dollar exchange rate.
In a trending video, the cleric said the naira-to-dollar exchange rate would have been up to N10,000 if not for him and some persons entering into a prayer session for the country.
According to Adeboye, it was the special prayer that kept the naira-to-dollar exchange rate at over N1,000.
An X user, @PureStanley1 posted the image with a caption thus:
“GEJ became acting president on the 9th of February 2010.
By October 2010, Pastor Adeboye was already criticising him and threatening a one million man march against his government
Remember that!!!”
The post has generated over 4,000 reposts with more than 10,000 likes as of November 20, 2024.
Another X user, @Voiceofigbos posted the image with another caption that read:
“If you re Igbo and still attending this church may it never be well with you.
He was bold enough to stage a protest because there is Ebele in Jonathan Name.
This church train bigots.”
The post has generated over 1,000 reposts and 2,000 likes as of November 20, 2024.
CLAIM
Photo shows Pastor Adeboye protesting against Nigerian government during ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.
THE FINDINGS
Checks by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is MISLEADING.
To verify the claim, our fact-checker conducted a Google reverse image search to trace the origin of the image. Results from the search revealed that the image was taken in 2020 during President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
Findings showed that the photo was from a peaceful protest led by Pastor Adeboye, aimed at drawing attention to widespread killings in the country at the time.
The protest, organized by Pastor Adeboye, saw members of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) across Nigeria participating. The clergyman led the walk himself, starting from Ebute Meta to Atan Cemetery in Yaba, Lagos, and back.
Additionally, our fact-checker conducted a Google search to investigate whether Pastor Adeboye led a protest against Nigerian government during former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration. The search did not find any direct evidence supporting this claim.
However, a report by Vanguard newspaper dated October 11, 2010, was somewhat related. The report, titled “Kidnapping: RCCG petitions Jonathan…to stage one million-man protest,” detailed the move by Pastor Adeboye to address the spate of insecurity during Jonathan’s administration.
According to the report, the RCCG began collecting signatures nationwide for a proposed one million-man protest rally to raise awareness about declining security standards in Nigeria.
The petition was reportedly sent to then President Goodluck Jonathan. However, FactCheckHub’s findings confirmed that the proposed one-million-man protest ultimately did not take place.
THE VERDICT
The claim that an image shows Pastor Adeboye protesting against Nigerian government during ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration is MISLEADING. The viral photo was originally taken in 2020 during ex-President Buhari’s administration – not under Jonathan’s administration as claimed.
Nurudeen Akewushola is a fact-checker with FactCheckHub. He has authored several fact checks which have contributed to the fight against information disorder. You can reach him via [email protected] and @NurudeenAkewus1 via Twitter.
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