The general overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has asked Nigeria’s security chiefs to eliminate terrorists within 90 days or step down.
In a video posted on the church’s X handle on Tuesday, Adeboye urged the Federal Government to act swiftly in addressing the country’s security challenges.
“If I were asked to make suggestions, I would say quietly to our government, move fast. And tell our security chiefs, get rid of these terrorists within 90 days, or resign,” Adeboye said.
The cleric noted that religious leaders can only offer advice to political authorities, and that the final responsibility rests with the commander-in-chief.
Adeboye said he advised late President Muhammadu Buhari who gave security chiefs a similar deadline to tackle Boko Haram, but that the directive was not fully achieved within the timeframe.
In 2021, Buhari ordered the then service chiefs to “take out” bandits, kidnappers, and their sponsors.
The late president said the armed forces should be more proactive rather than reactionary.
Adeboye said the former president acted on the advice by issuing the directive to security chiefs, but failed to enforce it after the deadline elapsed.
“He ran with that advice, but he didn’t follow it through. Because he gave the order as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.The three months went, and the work was not done,” he said.
The RCCG general overseer said he later questioned the former president over his decision not to act after the deadline passed, but declined to give details of their conversations.
He called on the current government to ensure that any directive given to security chiefs goes beyond neutralising terrorists to also targeting those who finance and support them.
“When giving orders to the service chiefs this time around, we should make it clear to them that they are not only to eliminate the terrorists, they should eliminate their sponsors, no matter how influential they may be,” Adeboye added.
His comments come amid renewed concerns over insecurity across the country, following a series of kidnappings, attacks on communities and abductions of students in recent months.
On May 15, some gunmen attacked two schools in Ogbomoso, Oyo state abducting dozens of pupils and teachers. One of the teacher would later be beheaded in a viral video circulating online.
Following the abduction, President Bola Tinubu directed the deployment of a “specialised security unit with advanced rescue capabilities” to intensify efforts to secure the release pupils and teachers.
The abduction adds to a string of similar incidents recorded across the country in recent months.
