By Our Foreign Correspondent—
Two of Nigeria’s most prominent spiritual leaders have issued a stark warning from the heart of the American capital: without immediate and decisive intervention from the United States and its allies, Nigeria faces total disintegration.
Pastor Enoch Adeboye, General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), and Bishop David Oyedepo, founder of the Living Faith Church Worldwide, used the US-Nigeria Faith Heroes Award Gala in Washington D.C. to deliver what was, in effect, a cry for help.
The event, hosted by the Save Nigeria Group USA and the US-Nigeria Civil Society Coalition at the Hilton Garden Inn on Capitol Hill, honoured President Donald Trump as Special Guest of Honour, alongside Congressmen Chris Smith and Riley Moore, whose bill targeting the sponsors of terrorism in Nigeria is currently before Congress.
But the evening’s most searing moments came from the Nigerian clerics themselves. Pastor Adeboye, who received an award at the gala, admitted that terrorism had drawn uncomfortably close. “Terrorism is now at my doorstep,” he told the packed audience.
He rejected criticism that he had remained silent as Christians were slaughtered in their thousands, insisting his approach had been one of “spiritual warfare” rather than public confrontation. But he made clear that the scale of the crisis had overwhelmed what any religious leader or local institution could address.
Drawing from Isaac Newton’s first law of motion, Adeboye accused powerful domestic actors of making the fight against terrorism nearly impossible. “There are certain people in my country that, I regret to say, are untouchable, and only God can deal with them,” he said.
Turning directly to American policymakers, he pleaded: “If you want to help us, help us more. Use your influence to help us.”
Adeboye reserved special praise for President Trump, whom he described as the best politician he had ever known. “When he says, ‘I want to do this,’ you better get ready,” he said, calling on Trump to complete the military strikes against terrorist camps launched in December.
He warned that terrorists were now openly mocking their victims. “They are asking, ‘Where is their God?’”
In his keynote address – delivered by representatives – Bishop Oyedepo was even blunter. Nigeria, he declared, is “virtually at the brink of collapse.”
The fiery cleric threw his full weight behind the Nigeria Religious Freedom and Accountability Act of 2026, a US Congressional bill currently making its way through the legislature.
Citing Congressional findings, Oyedepo laid out the grim statistics: between 2009 and 2025, an estimated 50,000 to 125,000 Christians have been martyred in Nigeria, with over 19,000 churches destroyed. Nigeria alone accounts for a staggering 72 per cent of all Christians martyred worldwide.
He pointed directly to the operations of Fulani-ethnic militias, Boko Haram and ISWAP, and backed the bill’s call to designate these groups as Foreign Terrorist Organisations (FTOs) under international law.
He referenced the brutal massacres in Benue and Plateau States that claimed over 9,500 lives between 2023 and 2025 alone.
“The happenings in our country today call for urgent action from all stakeholders and well-meaning individuals to prevent a situation of total anarchy,” Oyedepo warned.
“My heart bleeds as I put down these few lines. We look forward to a nation that will be safe, peaceful, and prosperous again.”
The event also heard from Sam Brownback, former US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, and Dr Katrina Lantos Swett, a leading human rights advocate.
Brownback said it was “painful that Nigeria was still bleeding,” warning the country risked being overrun by terrorist networks. He urged Nigerians and their allies to “subdue Fulani terrorist groups and resist any attempt to turn the country into a caliphate.”
Swett said America “has powerful leverage to do more” and expressed satisfaction that the Trump administration had placed Nigeria at the centre of the international discussion on religious freedom and terrorism.
Stephen Osemwegie, President of Save Nigeria Group USA and convener of the coalition, said the mission would not be complete until the entire terrorist network in Nigeria was dismantled.
He called on both chambers of the US Congress to speedily pass H.R. 7457, the Nigeria Religious Freedom and Accountability Act of 2025, and send it to President Trump for signature.
The gala capped a week of intense advocacy that began with a major rally at MacPherson Square, just steps from the White House.
Twenty-six civil society groups stood united under a single banner: no longer will the Nigerian diaspora remain silent while their homeland bleeds.
Organisers called the evening “Thank You, America.” But the message was unmistakably a warning. With Congress moving forward on accountability legislation and a US President willing to use hard military leverage, Nigeria’s leadership faces an unavoidable ultimatum: secure the nation, or watch the international community take the reins.
As Pastor Adeboye put it, simply and urgently: “Use your influence to help us.”
