Pastor-Adeboye
Bolatito Mercy
General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has issued a direct challenge to Nigeria’s security leadership, calling on the Federal Government to give service chiefs a 90-day ultimatum to eliminate terrorists or step down. Speaking in a video posted on the church’s official X handle on Tuesday June 2, 2026, the 84-year-old cleric said the country’s worsening security situation demands accountability from those entrusted with protecting lives and property. He framed his remarks as counsel to the commander-in-chief, noting that while religious leaders can only advise, the responsibility for results rests with the President. His tone was urgent and fatherly, as he addressed the government to “move fast” and make it clear to security chiefs that the current approach is no longer acceptable.
The core of Adeboye’s message is the 90-day deadline. He suggested that service chiefs be told to “get rid of these terrorists within 90 days, or resign.” The timeline mirrors advice he said he gave to the late President Muhammadu Buhari years ago when killings by Boko Haram became unbearable. According to Adeboye, Buhari acted on that counsel by summoning security chiefs and giving them three months to end the insurgency or resign. He recalled that security operatives moved fast initially, but the deadline passed without full enforcement, and the work remained undone. The cleric said he later met with the former president to question why the order was not followed through, though he declined to share details of that private conversation.
What makes Adeboye’s current call more forceful is his insistence that the mandate must go beyond eliminating terrorists to also targeting their sponsors. He stressed that when giving directives to service chiefs this time, the order should be explicit: they are not only to neutralize the fighters, but to “eliminate their sponsors, no matter how influential they may be.” This reflects a growing public frustration that military operations often focus on foot soldiers while those financing, arming, and enabling terrorism remain untouched. By naming sponsors regardless of status or influence, Adeboye is pushing for a crackdown on networks that fund banditry, kidnapping, and insurgency from behind the scenes.
The RCCG leader’s intervention comes amid renewed concerns over terrorist attacks, banditry, and mass abductions across several states. Just days earlier, the Senate mourned victims of the May 15 Oyo school abduction where over 40 pupils and teachers were taken, while the Christian Association of Nigeria declared a three-day national mourning and demanded a state of emergency on security. Adeboye’s remarks tap into that national grief and the perception that government responses have relied too heavily on conciliatory rhetoric rather than decisive action. His demand for measurable results within a fixed period is meant to cut through what he sees as delay and lack of political will.
Adeboye also emphasized the limits of his role while underscoring the weight of his counsel. He noted that “you can only advise the commander-in-chief; you cannot command him,” because commanding the commander-in-chief would make the advisor the de facto commander, which “doesn’t make sense.” Yet he made clear he has tried before, saying “God is my witness” that he has pushed for stronger action in the past. The reference to his previous engagement with Buhari shows this is not a new stance for him, but a consistent call for accountability that he believes was not fully honored in the past. His decision to speak publicly now suggests he feels the urgency has increased.
The cleric’s remarks have sparked reactions because they frame security leadership in terms of performance and consequences. By tying tenure to results within 90 days, Adeboye is advocating for a performance-based standard that is rarely applied openly to Nigeria’s top security officials. The implication is that persistent insecurity should cost commanders their jobs if they cannot deliver. This shifts the conversation from explanations and promises to measurable outcomes, which resonates with citizens who feel abandoned in communities under attack. His call for resignation if the deadline fails adds teeth to what would otherwise be another appeal for tougher action.
Adeboye’s focus on sponsors also highlights the complexity of Nigeria’s security crisis. Terrorist groups and bandits require funding, logistics, and protection to operate at the scale seen in recent kidnappings and raids. The cleric’s demand that service chiefs pursue financiers “no matter how powerful” suggests a belief that political and economic interests are shielding key enablers. This point aligns with longstanding allegations that high-profile individuals have been linked to insecurity without facing prosecution. By pushing the government to target both perpetrators and backers, Adeboye is asking for a deeper dismantling of the entire criminal ecosystem, not just tactical victories on the battlefield.
The timing of the video is significant, coming at a moment when multiple pressure points are converging on the Federal Government. Parents of abducted Oyo pupils rejected relief materials and demanded their children back, the Nigeria Union of Teachers declared an indefinite strike, and CAN set June 12 to June 14 as days of national mourning with June 14 marked as “Black Sunday” in churches. President Tinubu has approved 1,000 forest guards for Oyo and directed specialized rescue units, but Adeboye’s ultimatum suggests those steps are still seen as insufficient. His intervention adds moral and spiritual weight to the demand for faster, more decisive action.
Ultimately, Adeboye’s message is both a warning and a prescription. He is warning that patience with repeated attacks is running out, and that Nigerians need to see concrete results, not more promises. His prescription is a clear deadline, accountability for failure, and an expanded target list that includes financiers of terror. Whether the government adopts the 90-day ultimatum remains uncertain, but the cleric has forced the issue into public debate again. By speaking as a father to the nation and recalling his past counsel to a late president, he has positioned the church as a moral stakeholder demanding that security chiefs either deliver safety within three months or vacate office, and that no sponsor of terrorism should be considered too powerful to be touched.
