Adeboye to service chiefs: Wipe out terrorists within three months or resign

Enoch Adeboye, general overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), has urged the federal government to issue a 90-day ultimatum to Nigeria’s security chiefs to eliminate terrorists or resign from office.

Adeboye made the call in a video shared on his X handle on Tuesday.

He expressed concern over the country’s worsening security situation and called for urgent action against perpetrators of violence, stressing that security chiefs must be held accountable for results in the fight against terrorism.

He said, “You can only advise the commander-in-chief. You can’t command him, because if you command the commander-in-chief, then you become the commander of the commander-in-chief. That doesn’t make sense.

“But I’ve tried. And God is my witness. I don’t want to take much of your time.

“What should we do now? I’m talking to you as my children. 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.”

The cleric also urged the government to go beyond targeting terrorists to also confront their sponsors, regardless of their level of influence.

He said, “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 recalled that a former Nigerian president once issued a similar directive to security chiefs but noted that the order was not fully enforced after the deadline elapsed.

He said, “There was a president, unfortunately he’s dead now… who called the service chiefs together and said, I give you three months. Get rid of all these Boko Haram people, or resign.”

He added, “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. But security operatives moved fast.”

Adeboye said he later met the late president after the deadline passed, noting that the experience shaped his current recommendation.

He said, “So I went to see him… this time, somehow, the press got to know that I visited him… unfortunately, like I said, he’s not alive now.”

The cleric reiterated that security chiefs must not only be tasked with eliminating terrorists but also their sponsors “no matter how influential they may be.”

His remarks come amid renewed concerns over terrorism, banditry, and kidnappings across several parts of the country, with increasing calls for stronger measures to address insecurity.