#JusticeForOmozuwa: Adeboye breaks silence after backlash – he is praying and ‘working with relevant authorities’ to arrest perpetrators

After coming under severe attacks for keeping mum over the killing of Uwaila Omozuwa, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye has finally broken his silence.

Omozuwa was reportedly raped and hit on the head with a fire extinguisher inside a branch of the RCCG in Ikpoba hills, Benin, Edo State on Wednesday May 27, 2020, where she had gone to study.

The church was silent over the attack as Nigerians led online protest to demand for justice Uwa. Neusroom’s request for reaction from the Church’s Regional Pastor for Edo State, Dele Balogun also met a brick wall, as he refused to address the issue and directed our correspondent to the RCCG’s national headquarters in Lagos where administrative activities are coordinated.

While anger was rife on the internet over Uwaila’s death, RCCG’s Public Relations Twitter handle, which failed to react to the outrage, shared a creative bearing Adeboye’s picture with an inscription “Pray for Adeboye”. The tweet further irked already angered Nigerians who criticised Adeboye for being ‘insensitive’ to the plight of the 22-year-old lady attacked at one of the church’s branches before her death a few days after.

Ayo Bankole tweeted “How does a 22 year old lady get raped and murdered in a church & no word from you to pull the weight of the church to bring justice & end to this? Why the hell are we praying for Pastor Adeboye on a day our daughter was raped & murdered IN A CHURCH??? What prayer?? #JusticeForUwa”

Another Twitter user Kelvin Odanz asked “A member of RCCG was raped and murdered in one of your churches. But instead of a prayer or press statement for her, you asking for a prayer for Pastor Adeboye?”

The torrent of angry tweets earned ‘Pastor Adeboye’ a place among the top 10 Twitter trends on Sunday evening.

After hours of backlashes, Adeboye took to his Twitter handle around 9pm on Sunday to address Uwaila’s death. He said he is offering prayers and working with security operatives to ensure the perpetrators of the heinous act do not go unpunished.

All I can do at this time is to pray for the family of Omozuwa and do everything possible working with relevant authorities to bring the perpetrators to book,” he tweeted at 9:18 pm.

Adeboye added: “I and members of my Family condemn this act strongly and urge everyone to stay calm as we are already looking into the matter and cooperating with the police to establish the facts of the shocking incident.”