Human rights lawyer Inibehe Effiong has set a 24-hour ultimatum for Pastor Enoch Adeboye, General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), to retract a statement regarding the arrest of TikToker Olumide Ogunsanwo, popularly known as Seaking.
The ultimatum warns that failure to comply will result in legal action against both Pastor Adeboye and the RCCG.
In a strongly worded statement titled “WE WILL SUE PASTOR ADEBOYE AND RCCG IF THEY FAIL TO RETRACT THEIR PRESS STATEMENT WITHIN 24 HOURS,” Inibehe Effiong also confirmed that his client, Olumide John Ogunsanwo, also known as Seaking, has been released on administrative bail by the Nigeria Police Force in Abuja.
Seaking was rearrested after his court appearance in Lagos and flown to Abuja by the Cybercrimes Unit of the Force Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (FCIID).
Effiong expressed gratitude towards activist Omoyele Sowore and fellow lawyers Marshal Abubakar, Tope Temokun, and Deji Adeyanju for their support during the ordeal. However, Effiong criticized the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) for its public statement on the case, which connected Pastor E.A. Adeboye to a petition filed by the “Concerned Christian Youth Forum” against Seaking.
Insisting that alleged cyberstalking or defamation offenses are personal and not transferable, Effiong contended that Pastor Adeboye cannot be the victim in this case while another person acts as the complainant.
Additionally, Effiong emphasized that mere insults are not criminal offenses in Nigeria, nor can cyberstalking and defamation be pursued through proxies.
Effiong warned that the RCCG’s association with the petition risks dragging Pastor Adeboye into potential legal proceedings. To avoid this, Effiong demanded that Pastor Adeboye and the RCCG retract their statement within 24 hours.
Concluding the statement, Effiong urged pastors and Christian leaders to adhere to the true tenets of Christianity, stressing the importance of avoiding weaponizing the police against those who speak out against them.
See the statement below:
ILLEGAL ARREST AND DETENTION OF TIKTOKER SEAKING:
WE WILL SUE PASTOR ADEBOYE AND RCCG IF THEY FAIL TO RETRACT THEIR PRESS STATEMENT WITHIN 24 HOURS
We can confirm that our client Mr. Olumide John Ogunsanwo alias Seaking has been released on administrative bail by the Nigeria Police Force in Abuja.
Recall that Seaking was rearrested after his appearance at the Magistrate Court, Ogba, Lagos on Thursday, 6th February, 2025 and flown to Abuja at the instance of the Cybercrimes Unit of the Force Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (FCIID).
We are particularly grateful to Comrade Omoyele Sowore for his spirited efforts, and for taking our client on administrative bail. We also appreciate our learned colleagues in Abuja, namely: Marshal Abubakar, Tope Temokun and Deji Adeyanju for their solidarity.
In the meantime, our attention has been drawn to a provocative public statement issued by the public relations unit of the THE REDEEMED CHRISTIAN CHURCH OF GOD on this case.
The Church in the statement conceded that Pastor Adeboye is not behind the petition that led to the arrest of Seaking, but it nonetheless suggested that the law should take its course based on a petition written by a certain busybody named James Paul Adama masquerading under the name of “Concerned Christian Youth Forum”.
The Church stated that the petition was written by the forum “on behalf of the Fathers of Faith, including Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye”.
To be clear, purported injuries suffered as a result of any act of alleged cyberstalking or alleged defamation are personal in law and not transferable.
Pastor Adeboye cannot be the victim of alleged cyberstalking or defamation, while another person pretends to act as the complainant.
It should also be stated that mere vulgar abuse or ‘insults’ are not criminal offences in Nigeria. Mere vulgar abuse is neither defamatory nor cyberstalking.
Cyberstalking and defamation cannot be pursued through proxies.
Since PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE had initially distanced himself from the matter, we had decided not to join him and the Church as respondents in any fundamental rights enforcement suit.
We do not know what motivated the capitulation by the Church, as evidenced by the eccentric statement issued by the Public Relations Unit of the RCCG.
It is pertinent to state that the fundamental rights of Olumide Ogunsanwo have already been breached, as he was detained beyond the permissible constitutional timeline, and without legally tenable grounds.
Since the RCCG has decided to associate itself with the busybody petitioner and to drag Pastor Enoch Adeboye into the pit of illegality dug by the police and the busybody complainant, they must understand the legal implications.
We are now left with no choice but to join Pastor Enoch Adeboye as a party to any action we would be filing for the enforcement of the fundamental rights of Seaking. This capitulation may also entail Pastor Adeboye having to personally testify in court in any criminal charge brought by the police, and him being subjected to cross examination.
We demand that Pastor Adeboye and the RCCG should retract their statement within the next 24 hours if they want to avoid being made parties to the legal proceedings.
It is important for Pastors and Christian leaders in our country to live by the true tenets of Christianity.
Pastors who resort to weaponizing the police to witch-hunt those who speak against them stand the risk of having their calling questioned. Vengeance should be of the Lord as admonished in the Bible, not of the Police.
However, where a pastor is determined to pursue an eye for an eye, he or she must be careful not to overreach his critic, abuser or adversary, and must be mindful not to violate the due process of law while seeking redress from earthly institutions.
Our next line of action will be communicated.
Inibehe Effiong
Lead Counsel
10/02/2025.
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