Osimhen pictured hugging teammates after scoring against Algeria at the AFCON 2025. Photo Source: The Standard.
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Claim: A Facebook user claims that Osimhen attended a church service at RCCG after defeating Algeria in the AFCON quarter-finals.
Verdict: Misleading. The viral picture of Osimhen at one of RCCG’s parishes was taken during the one-time African player of the year’s visit to the church for the New Year’s crossover service in 2023. Meanwhile, there are no credible news reports about the Nigerian forward visiting Lagos recently.
Full Text
Last weekend, the Super Eagles outclassed the Fennec Foxes of Algeria in the quarter-final to keep their campaign afloat at the ongoing African Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco.
Galatasaray’s striker, Victor Osimhen, opened the score sheet a couple of minutes after the interval. He later fed Akor Adams a clever pass, who tunnelled around Luca Zidane to give Nigeria a two-goal lead ten minutes later.
Following the Super Eagles’ emphatic win against their North African rivals and triumphant progress to the semi-final, a Facebook user, Enoch Arthur, claims Osimhen flew back to Lagos to attend a church service at the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026.
“After Nigeria won yesterday, Victor Osimhen immediately flew to Lagos to attend service at the RCCG this morning,” the Facebook user wrote.
Alongside the written claim, the Facebook user also shared a picture of Osimhen amidst church worshippers at an RCCG church.
As of Monday, Jan 12, 2025, the Facebook post has garnered 3,900 likes, 166 comments, and 20 shares.
Similar claims were shared here, here, and here.
Although other Facebook users pointed out the unlikelihood of the football maestro returning to Nigeria during the continental tournament, some commended him for attending church.
“It is not possible. This is Fake news,” Football Splash wrote.
“But why do you like deceiving people like that?” Totally Barca queried the claimant.
“Wow, that is awesome and beautiful,” Gab John commented.
“We are people of God at the end of the day,” Mbuelo J. Majaja wrote.
Due to the conflicting opinions expressed regarding the Nigerian forward’s alleged visit to Nigeria during the ongoing AFCON, DUBAWA decided to verify the claim.
Verification
DUBAWA conducted a keyword search related to the image shared by the claimant. The result linked us to a Facebook post shared on Jan. 1, 2024.
In the post, which has two images of Osimhen at one of the RCCG churches, and similar to the one shared by the claimant, Osimhen is reported to have experienced the cross-over night at an RCCG church in Lagos.
Further related searches linked us with a Vanguard report published on Jan. 1, 2024, informing that Osimhen was “spotted” attending a crossover service in a church in Lagos on New Year’s Eve. The news outlet also shared a picture of Osimhen amidst church congregants, similar to the image shared by the Facebook claimant.
Meanwhile, Punch newspaper reported Osimhen’s comment on their semi-final clash with the host nation, Morocco, scheduled for Jan. 14, 2026. Osimhen stated that although it would not be easy, the Super Eagles would perform well. However, there was no mention of the Nigerian forward visiting Nigeria at any point during the tournament.
Conclusion
The image shared by the claimant of Osimhen visiting Lagos and worshipping in a church happened in 2023 and is not recent. Therefore, the claim is misleading.
