Reverend Ladi Thompson, African Union Regional Director, has commented on Pastor Enoch Adeboye’s remarks regarding possible US involvement in addressing Nigeria’s security challenges, arguing that the language used carried significant implications.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television, aired on Friday, July 17, 2026, Thompson said Adeboye repeatedly described potential American intervention as an “attack,” contrasting it with the view of some Christians in Northern Nigeria, who he said saw such intervention as a possible rescue.
“The American intervention was repeatedly captured by Pastor Adeboye as saying, ‘America wants to attack us.’ In Northern Nigeria, Christians were saying, ‘America wants to rescue us.’ To the untrained ear, you may listen to his speech and not pick out that particularity. But when he kept saying that ‘America wants to attack us’ and advised the government, ‘don’t let them attack us,’ he knew what he meant,” Thompson said.
Thompson argued that Adeboye’s repeated use of the phrase reflected an intentional message and urged Nigerians to pay close attention to the language used in public discussions about insecurity and possible foreign intervention. His remarks represent his interpretation of Adeboye’s public comments.
