Human rights activist and lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, has warned politicians against using churches and other places of worship as platforms for political campaigns and mobilisation ahead of future elections.
Adeyanju, in a statement on Tuesday, said the growing intersection of religion and partisan politics could deepen existing divisions in the country, urging political actors to focus on ideas, policies and competing visions for Nigeria’s development.
He specifically criticised what he described as the renewed patronage of churches by the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, saying Nigeria must not return to the religious mobilisation that, according to him, polarised the country during the 2023 general election.
“Elections should be about ideas, policies and competing visions for Nigeria. Religion and politics should never be allowed to become instruments of division,” Adeyanju said.
He maintained that the same standard should apply to all political actors, regardless of their political parties or interests, stressing that places of worship should not be turned into campaign grounds.
“The church is not a place for political campaigns or political gimmicks, and politicians are not pastors,” he said.
Adeyanju also urged pastors and other religious leaders to resist allowing politicians to use churches to campaign or seek endorsements, warning that doing so could undermine the sanctity of worship centres and their moral authority.
“Pastors and religious leaders should stop giving politicians platforms to campaign or seek endorsements in church,” the activist said, adding that Nigeria could pay a heavy price if political actors continued to exploit religious differences for political gains.
“At what cost will it be when we continue to divide ourselves along religious lines using the weapon of politics? At what cost?” he asked.
Adeyanju said the religious and ethnic tensions witnessed during the 2023 presidential election should serve as a warning ahead of subsequent electoral contests, urging politicians and religious leaders not to repeat what he described as a bad precedent. “The bad precedent set in 2023 should not be repeated, let alone worsened,” he said.
He further warned that the continued involvement of religious platforms in partisan politics could damage the credibility of religious leaders. “Pastors must desist from platforming politicians if they are to retain their respect and keep the house of God sacred,” Adeyanju said, urging political leaders, clerics and other stakeholders to place Nigeria’s unity and stability above electoral ambitions.
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