Presidential spokesman Femi Adesina has said that some pastors supported the #EndSARS protests in October 2020 until the public demonstrations erupted in violence. 

Mr Adesina, in his weekly treatise posted on his Facebook page, yet again poked at Pentecostal preachers, blaming some of them for the escalation of violence that erupted in the aftermath of the historic march against decades of injustice and police brutality.

Mr Adesina had once alleged that some Nigerian pastors preach hate and falsehood to incite their members against President Muhammadu Buhari.

The #EndSARS protest against police brutality jolted and embarrassed the Buhari administration and brought the nation on its knees as young citizens occupied streets across the country in an unprecedented manner, forcing the government to swiftly scrap the Special Anti-Robbery Squad notorious for extorting and extra judicial killings. 

The demonstrations also secured wide ranging support from leaders, including influential clerics, who appreciated the frustrations of the youths.

One of such is Pastor Enoch Adeboye, General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God. The revered pastor declared his support for the movement, while his wife, Foluke Adeboye provided refreshments for protesters on the streets of Lagos. 

“Our daughters will not be able to prophesy and young men will not see visions if we don’t keep them alive,” Mr Adeboye said in a tweet. “I support the youths in this peaceful protest as they ‘speak up’ to #EndPoliceBrutality #EndSARS #ENDSWAT.” 

Similarly, Sam Adeyemi of DayStar Christian Center, on Twitter told protesters to press on with their demand to end police brutality and all forms of oppression from Nigerian police. 

“Please, stay focused on using your voice. Listen to one another with humility,” Mr Adeyemi said. “Many of us are praying really hard for you. Hold the vision of a developed Nigeria in your heart. Much love. #ENDSARS.” 

The protests however turned awry when authorities first introduced non-state actors conducted by government officials to attack peaceful protesters. The demonstrations were eventually hijacked by hoodlums when the Nigerian military opened live rounds on protesters at Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos, to dislodge protesters who had gathered in defiance of an impromptu curfew invoked by the Lagos authorities. No fewer than 10 were fear killed in that episode which let all hell loose with wanton destruction witnessed across the country.

But Mr Adesina in an apparent red herring sought to revise the account of events.

Using Pastor Williams Kumuyi as a good example of a cleric whose lifestyle and preaching should be emulated, Mr Adesina berated clerics who endorsed and supported #EndSARS protest. 

“When we have hatred for one another, Kumuyi submits, prayer cannot work in an optimal and maximal way. Bullseye. But that is not what some others tell members of their flock. They encourage hatred, dissenting and civil disobedience. During the last EndSARS campaign, many preachers were seen, egging the protesters on, and giving them tacit support,” Mr Adesina said. “And when anarchy flared, those preachers went underground. Not a word did you hear from them, suing for peace and end to bloodshed and destruction.”

Federal authorities have since enjoined state governments to institute judicial panels to investigate issues thrown up by #EndSARS protests in order to ensure justice and offer restitution.

While some states failed to set up judicial panels, the few ones that set up panels are yet to bring to closure to the numerous cases brought before the panels.