Former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, ex-lawmaker, Shehu Sani, and others have aired their views on the protest by members of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) on Sunday.

Recall that the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) had called on Christians across the country to embark on a ‘prayer walk’ on Sunday to protest the gruesome killing of the CAN Chairman in Michika Local Government Area of Adamawa State, Lawan Andimi, by Boko Haram terrorists.

Although the federal government condemned the beheading of the cleric, CAN said the government has performed below expectations as regards security of citizens.

However, it appears that the protest of Sunday witnessed a massive turn-out from RCCG members going by the pictures and videos shared on social media platforms.

In fact, the General Overseer of the church, Enoch Adeboye, alongside other members, was seen carrying a placard with the inscription “All souls are precious to God.”

It should be noted that the Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo, is a pastor in RCCG.

Reactions

Mr Sowore who led the #RevolutionNow campaign of August 5, applauded the congregation for coming out en masse.

“I salute the @rccghq on the protest against insecurity staged nationwide today & tagged “Prayer Walk” I want to urge other churches, mosques, artisans, students, youths to join in the struggle to liberate our dear nation. Resistance is the key to liberation,” he tweeted on Sunday.

Ex-senator Shehu Sani said the pastorate of the church has disembarked from sitting on the fence on national issues.

“Pastor Adeboye finally disembarking from the fence of caution, moderation and neutrality and leading a march against insecurity is commendable. Protest gives wings and wheels to Prayers,” he wrote on Twitter.

Former aviation minister, Fani Kayode, however, queried if the Vice President will join the march against insecurity as a member of the church.

“Pastor Enoch Adeboye and RCCG are conducting a protest march against the killings in the land.I commend them & hope that they will find the courage to accept that they made a mistake by supporting Buhari in the first place. Will RCCG Pastor Yemi Osinbajo will join in the march?”

Nonetheless, some rights activists, in their reactions, gave kudos to the congregation.

“See the number of people that came out to protest with Pastor Adeboye.
One day many will realise being remembered for standing against injustice is better than private jets from tithes!
Martin Luther King on my mind,” Aisha Yesufu posted on social media.

Another activist, Ayo Sogunro, noted that he had called the attention of the church to such a revolutionary move some years ago.

“I remember when, years ago, people like myself asked that Adeboye and other influential pastors do something like this. We were attacked by their congregation, this is not the job of a pastor.

And what about now? And all the congregation said, Amen, and praised the Lord.” Mr Sogunro tweeted

Worsening security situation

The deplorable state of Nigeria’s security was extensively discussed in the Senate last week.

The Senate Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to resign as Nigeria’s president over the worsening security situation of the country.

Mr Abaribe made the call while the Senate discussed a motion on national security challenges and the need to restructure the current security architecture.

Also, the United States of America placed a visa restriction on Nigerians last week giving security challenges as one of the reasons for such action.

The US said Nigeria did not adequately share public-safety and terrorism-related information necessary for the protection of the national security and public safety of the US.

“Nigeria also presents a high risk, relative to other countries in the world, of terrorist travel to the United States. Nigeria is an important strategic partner in the global fight against terrorism and the United States continues to engage with Nigeria on these and other issues.” The report of the visa restrictions titled, ‘Proclamation on improving enhanced vetting capabilities and process’ read in part.