A United States-based missionary and humanitarian worker, Alex Barbir, has launched a scathing attack on the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, over the church’s reported donation of $265,854 to support the Federal Government’s evacuation of Nigerians from South Africa.
Barbir described the intervention as “an act of slavery”, questioning why a church would commit hundreds of thousands of dollars to a government-coordinated evacuation exercise while Nigerians at home continue to face deadly attacks, insecurity and displacement.
The RCCG reportedly donated the funds to facilitate the evacuation of 500 Nigerians who indicated their desire to return home from South Africa amid reported xenophobic attacks and growing concerns over their safety.
The Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs acknowledged the donation and praised the RCCG for what it called “an act of compassion and solidarity” towards Nigerians caught in difficult circumstances abroad.
The ministry said the money would be used to provide 500 one-way air tickets for Nigerians seeking to return home.
But the government’s commendation has failed to settle questions raised by Barbir over the church’s intervention.
The missionary challenged the rationale behind the donation, particularly against the backdrop of persistent insecurity in several parts of Nigeria.
“This is an act of slavery,” Barbir said in his reaction to the development.
His criticism raises a broader and uncomfortable question: should Nigeria’s religious institutions be spending millions of naira supporting government-led interventions abroad while communities inside the country continue to demand protection from armed attacks?
Barbir has been particularly vocal about killings and attacks in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, repeatedly challenging authorities over what he considers an inadequate response to violence against vulnerable communities.
The controversy therefore goes beyond the RCCG’s donation.
It touches on the increasingly contentious relationship between Nigeria’s political leadership, religious institutions and humanitarian crises — and whether powerful faith organisations should merely complement government interventions or more aggressively demand accountability from those entrusted with protecting citizens.
The Federal Government, for its part, has framed the RCCG intervention as humanitarian assistance to distressed Nigerians rather than political support for the Tinubu administration.
The church’s donation has also been presented as a voluntary humanitarian gesture to Nigerians who wished to return home following security concerns in South Africa.
Yet Barbir’s intervention has placed the Adeboye-led RCCG under scrutiny, particularly over the question of where and how the church’s vast humanitarian resources should be deployed at a time when millions of Nigerians continue to grapple with insecurity, displacement and economic hardship.
The controversy is unlikely to end with the evacuation flights.
For critics like Barbir, the real issue is not whether stranded Nigerians deserve help — they clearly do — but why Nigerians facing danger abroad appear to have attracted a rapid humanitarian response while vulnerable communities facing violence within Nigeria continue to plead for protection.