By Miracle Ogunde
The trending three-hour documentary released by the BBC on the late founder of the Synagogue Church of All Nations, (SCOAN), Temitope Balogun Joshua, popularly known as T.B. Joshua, featuring over two dozen SCOAN ex-members (disciples), taking turns to share accounts of alleged sexual assaults, manipulation, forced abortion, and other abuses attributed to the late cleric in his lifetime, has continued to provoke reactions from different quarters both within and outside the country, particularly on the social media.
While some are of the opinion that the late T.B Joshua was a true prophet of God with a kind heart and passion for humanity, Starnews NG writes that some people believed that the late SCOAN founder was a fake prophet who exploited many due to their ignorance.
Some of the late Prophet’s supporters even faulted the revelation in the documentary, questioning while it was released after about three years since the late prophet died.
Starnews NG can report that a throwback video had surfaced online featuring a shocking revelation given by the founder of the Household of God Church, Pastor Chris Okotie, which described the late T.B. Joshua as a ”magician” and a ”sorcerer” as at two years ago preceding the BBC’s report”.
Chris Okotie has been known to be a long-standing critic of the late T.B Joshua and once described him as the “vicar of the devil on earth.”
In a 75-minute video sighted by Starnews NG, titled ‘The truth about T.B. Joshua’ which was posted on his official YouTube channel on August 8, 2021, Okotie accused the late cleric who died in June of equating himself with Jesus Christ by his name, conduct, and spiritual pattern.
“Greetings in the name of the Lord Jesus. What is the truth about TB Joshua? Who was he? Was he a product of Christianity? Or a practitioner of shamanism? Was he a servant of the Lord Jesus? Or some itinerant religious quack? Was he a true prophet, who was misunderstood? Or a hypocrite masquerading under the habiliment of the Faith?”
Quoting John 8:32: “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free”, Okotie said the late preacher took the name ‘Joshua’ because he believed he was another messiah and wanted to equate himself with Jesus.
“He(Joshua) believes that God sent him to our world to bring reconciliation between God and mankind, exactly the same way the Lord Jesus was sent, and that is why he took that name Joshua,” he said.
“Joshua claimed he is the one that the Lord has appointed in this generation to bring reconciliation between God and man. And he is not the first to propose such a ludicrous concept. Because even Jesu Oyingbo did the same thing, he calls himself Emmanuel. And we have the same thing with the entity in Calabar who used to call himself I Am.
“So Joshua believes he is aloof from Jesus, that’s why he took the name Joshua because that’s the name that Jesus bore when he was right here on earth. The full name is Jehoshua, which means Jehovah is salvation. The name Joshua and the name Jesus are exactly the same,” Okotie added.
Speaking further, Pastor Okotie likened T.B Joshua to the late Bar-Jesus, a false prophet in the scriptures who equated himself with Jesus.
According to him, “He(Joshua) is a magician, a sorcerer, and calls himself a prophet. Notice he doesn’t call himself an apostle, he doesn’t call himself a teacher, he doesn’t call himself a pastor because if he calls himself by any other name outside of prophet, he does not fulfill the pattern. So, he must stick with that appellation. He must call himself a prophet so, so and so… So, he is a magician who claims to be a prophet but he is a false prophet,” Okotie said.
Recall that three days after T.B Joshua passed away in June 2021, Okotie shared a cryptic post wherein he referenced a certain ”wizard of Endor” who assumed the title of ”Emmanuel.”
Although he(Okotie) did not mention any name or person in particular in his message, it has been inferred on social media that the “wizard at Endor who assumed the title Emmanuel” was a reference to the late TB Joshua and his church’s slogan-Emmanuel.
Okotie went further to say that T.B Joshua went about doing philanthropic work just so he can be like Jesus.
However, Starnews NG reports that his comments in the video have no doubt drew widespread criticisms from the faithfuls of the late preacher but he remains adamant from his latest video.
Recall that TB Joshua died on June 6, 2021 and was laid to rest within his church premises on July 7, 2021 as demanded by his wife and other family members.
His burial, which gained huge media coverage from all over the world and most especially Nigeria, was shunned by top Nigerian General Overseers which stirred controversy on social media at that time, suggesting lack of acceptance by some popular God’s general in Nigeria.
Following the three-hour documentary aired by the BBC about the late SCOAN founder, the church clarified the rumour that it was closing down.
In a Facebook post shared by the TB Joshua ministries on January 14, 2024, the wife of the late cleric, Pastor Evelyn Joshua, reportedly debunked the rumour at the church branch in Ondo, adding that SCOAN is a church and not a cult.
Reacting to the allegations, SCOAN Public Affairs Director, Dare Adejumo in a statement, said the BBC documentary, titled: ‘Disciples: The Cult of TB Joshua,’ portrayed the late founder in a negative light.
Adejumo claimed that faces of individuals in the BBC interview that were featured in the expository documentary were unfamiliar to the church.
He maintained that the documentary was aimed at tarnishing the image of the late T.B. Joshua, stating that while investigating and reporting are at the core of journalism, straying from ethical principles is unacceptable.
While highlighting journalism’s role as a societal watchdog, the church stressed the importance of fairness, balance, and objectivity for the media to maintain dignity as the fourth estate of the realm.
In her own reaction, the wife of the late T.B. Joshua, Pastor (Mrs) Evelyn Joshua, on her Facebook page, posted “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Prophet T.B. Joshua reminds us of the words of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ when He was on the Cross: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” (Luke 23:34) Prophet T.B. Joshua says: “Your response when you are hurt, embarrassed, misjudged, wrongly accused, persecuted and hated, determines your future.”
Before the BBC documentary, Pastor (Mrs.) Joshua had responded to one of the women in the now fast-circulating tape, Mrs Bisola Johnson, who also accused the late T.B. Joshua of wrongdoing.
Pastor Evelyn Joshua, during a recent ministration in the church, said that the lady came to TB Joshua and narrated the story of being homeless and needing help. Joshua said the church later provided her a shelter at the synagogue.
A video of her past in the church was also shown, where Johnson spoke of her homelessness.
“One day, she drank poison because her husband said that he was not interested in the marriage anymore. Her husband rushed her to the hospital. Two weeks later, she poured kerosene and petrol on her house, and the property worth N3 million got burnt.
“Over the years, Johnson wanted to be my friend and I said ‘No,’ because I didn’t know her. While living at the Synagogue, I noticed her ways were not pure but thankfully, the late Prophet, according to his wife, did not give in to her foolishness. “Stay away from foolish people so that you do not be like them.”
Meanwhile, notable figures in Nigeria have also reacted in the same manner with some faulting the documentary while some expressed reservations.
Reacting to the BBC documentary, politician and Publisher Ovation magazine, who was also friend of the late prophet, Dele Momodu, drummed support for the founder of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) amidst the controversy.
Momodu said “although there is good and bad in every mortal”, the late Joshua was “an angel on earth.”
Former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani Kayode, also reacted to the documentary on his X account, questioning the legitimacy of these allegations.
He said as far as he was concerned, the late preacher was a blessing to the church and the Christian faith in Nigeria.
He tweeted, “So true! You touched many lives, fought a good fight, stood till the end, and established a great and enduring legacy. No man or institution can destroy it with dirty lies: not even the BBC! Continue to rest in peace brother and thanks for being such a blessing to the Church, the Christian faith, humanity, and our beloved nation Nigeria. We are and shall always be very proud of you.”
Also rubbishing the BBC documentary, musician Daddy said: “Say what you like, the time wey the man dey here, una no talk, so who dey hear una blackmail?”
Another musician, Victor Adere, who granted an interview spoke about how TB Joshua healed him and saved his family.
He said “In 2021, my dad, late Mr Emmanuel Adere introduced me and my entire family to SCOAN [in] 1996, and ever since then you have been a blessing to us.”
Likewise a popular Nigerian actress, Ronke Ojo narrated how the lated prophet healed his son of asthma.
Also reacting, Tourism journalist, Okorie Uguru, who related closely with the late Joshua, also recounted his over a decade encounter with the late evangelist on his Facebook page.
“I related with the late Prophet T B Joshua for many years, and in all these years, I have no negative to say about him, except that he was a workaholic and drove his aides same way…. Anybody can say what they feel like saying, but I know what I know….”
Meanwhile, some journalists and human rights activists have called for stronger institutions to manage abuses emanating from religious places.
Speaking after a private screening of the BBC Africa Eye Documentary on the late TB Joshua, the activists maintained that religious organisations must be intentional about addressing such abuses when reported.
Speaking during a short panel session after the documentary screening, Ghanaian undercover journalist, Anas Anas, and Esther Alaribe of Women Radio commended the Africa Eye team for the project.
“I think it’s a strong, great film with watertight evidence and I can’t see how anyone can downplay the impact,” Mr Anas said, adding that the documentary looked at the gross human rights abuses perpetrated by TB Joshua.
“It is the fact that we have a canker in our African society that we have not developed the courage to handle through hook and crook. We have not developed the courage to speak to it in our society and I think BBC Africa Eye has done it.”
Responding to why the documentary was important even though the subject is no longer alive, Ms Alaribe said it would always be part of the history.
“For the generation whom we have told this story, decades to come, if that church’s name is still standing, we will always remember this film. We will always remember this story.
“So now, I am pushing out to our institutions in Nigeria. What are we going to do? What are we saying, yes the pastor is late but the institution, the church in question was built in his name, the actions in his name. These survivors would never hear the name of this church and remain the same. Who is checking the activities going on in the church at the time? This is not an attack on the church.”
The secretary-general of Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA), Saudatu Mahdi, said religious organisations have the responsibility to investigate abuses and punish perpetrators.
Mahd likened the reception of the documentary to the perception of people in the early days of the fight against Violence Against Women.
“In the beginning, people used to think that we cook figures…people felt we were cooking figures because we want Oyinbos (Whites) to give us money,” she said.
“Today, violence against women is in everybody’s face. The excesses in our faith spaces are also going to hit us hard. In the same way we spoke about HIV/AIDS, we are either affected or infected. We are either perpetrators or survivors.”
She therefore, called on the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) to lead the charge among the leadership of the two major religions in Nigeria. She said NIREC is supposed to be the sounding board for the two major religions.
Moreover, one of the interviewees in the documentary present at the screening, Paul, said he and Bisola, another interviewee, started the journey of exposing the late TB Joshua more than 10 years ago. Mr Paul said he faced several forms of attack from the loyalists of the late pastor.
“This is a project, I and sister Bisola started in 2009 when we released a video –The Deception of the Age. It was everywhere…People came out and said no ‘they are lying against him’ but I know I was saying the truth,” he said.
“I lay underground quiet for seven and half years. I can’t work anywhere. I can’t do church anywhere. I can’t do anything. I just lay on the ground, living with the help of some friends and other people.”
He noted that no Nigerian volunteered to speak because they were still scared.
He said: “These ladies that spoke now, they are from South Africa, UK, US. No Nigerian has spoken because they are scared. Fear is just an illusion.”
“If there’s a freedom to say that all the girls that were violated, raped at the synagogue should come out, you would be scared. If he can have the courage to do this to the white, is it then our people that were going at the age of 10, 11.”
In his response, a cleric, Peter Ogunmuyiwa, who is a member of the Christian Association of Nigeria, (CAN) noted that the association has no power to punish any member of any church.
He said the churches are registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), giving the government powers to investigate and punish perpetrators of any evil act.
He said: “I think the problem is the system and the state. For instance, many people expect that CAN should have a way of curbing or checkmating some of these things but the Christian Association of Nigeria does not have legislative powers to do that.
“The only constituted authority to deal with all these institutions, all these criminalities that we are talking about is the state, the government. Up till now, if a church misbehaves in Nigeria today, the Christian Association of Nigeria does not have any power to sanction any church because they are being registered by CAC without recourse to CAN.”
The Documentary
In the released documentary, the BBC Africa Eye team said it interviewed more than two dozen former members of the SCOAN who accused the late T.B Joshua of sexual assault, manipulation and forced abortion among others.
The interviewees, who were former members of SCOAN from Nigeria, South Africa, and the United Kingdom who lived at the Synagogue in Lagos, relayed the stories of abuse they faced and witnessed from the late prophet while he was alive.
In the documentary, Starnews NG reports that the late SCOAN founder was also accused of skewing the narrative around the collapse of his guest house where more than 100 people died in 2014.
The three-part documentary has no doubt also generated several mixed reactions from social media users across the world.
About T.B. Joshua
Temitope Balogun Joshua, popularly known as T.B. Joshua was born on June 12, 1963 in Ondo State, Nigeria.
He narrated while alive that he reportedly stayed 15 months in his mother’s womb before he was given birth to.
According to the SCOAN website, Joshua attended St. Stephen’s Anglican Primary School (Ikare-Akoko, Nigeria, 1971-1977). He had only one year of secondary education before he left to work in a poultry farm.
While in school, he was known as ‘small pastor’ because of his love for the scriptures and gift to predict things that would happen in his community. He was also said to have been the leader of ‘Scripture Union’ while in school.
He had taught children at evening classes and done some menial jobs before he had a revelation to set up a ministry while on a 40-day fast.
In 1987, T.B. Joshua founded The Synagogue Church of All Nations under the bridge linking Ejigbo and Egbe in Lagos State, with just few members.
The church later grew to have large number of members within and outside Nigeria, Africa and Latin America.
He later established the Emmanuel TV television station from Lagos which has wide viewership especially as it is on cable TV.
Philanthropy/Humanitarian Acts
T.B. Joshua was a known philanthropist and noted for helping the needy and sponsoring persons.
‘My People FC’, a football club he started in 2009, was part of his efforts to help the youth and two members of the team, Sani Emmanuel and Ogenyi Onazi, played for Nigeria Golden Eaglets in the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup.
Also, three players of the club were sponsored abroad to play professional football in Sweden.
The WBO International Light Middleweight boxing champion King, Davidson Emenogu, had said that T.B. Joshua financially supported him throughout his career.
Forbes, in 2011 wrote that T.B. Joshua was the third-richest pastor in Nigeria with estimated net worth of between $10 million and $15 million. Although his church denied this fact.
T.B’s Ministry
T.B. Joshua was so popular that the Wikipedia documented his social media presence to be massive with no fewer than 3.5 million fans on Facebook.
His YouTube channel, Emmanuel TV, has over one million YouTube subscribers. He was the world’s most viewed Christian ministry on the platform before it was suspended.
He was described as the “Oprah of Evangelism” and “YouTube’s most popular Pastor”.
Just like many influential men, TB Joshua was not without controversies. On Sept, 12, 2014, a guesthouse collapsed in the SCOAN’s premises in Lagos, killing no fewer than 115 people.
With speculations continuing to trail the circumstances that led to the guest house collapse, the former Nigerian Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, alleges that “Nigeria’s intelligence agencies ‘blew up’ the building’’.
Also, his relationship with other clerics was not smooth and he was publicly criticised by many of his colleagues who do not believe he was a product of Christianity.
The public also questioned the miracles that occurred in his church.
Unperturbed by several allegations about him, TB Joshua, in a 2006 book, “The Mirror”, he said: “Whatever I am today is a product of the conviction that victory through Christ Jesus is victory indeed. The rest is history.
The late T.B. Joshua made impact in education, healthcare, peace and reconciliation, among others.
A Forbes blogger said it was estimated that T.B. Joshua spent $20 million on “education, healthcare and rehabilitation programmes for former Niger Delta militants.”
He was receptive to repentant persons who cut across all walks of life including rehabilitation of repentant militants, armed robbers and sex workers who came to the church for ‘deliverance’.
The SCOAN has a scholarship programme that sponsors many students in primary, secondary and tertiary institutions.
In 2012, it was widely reported that Joshua sponsored a Nigerian student doing a PhD in the U.K.
His humanitarian relief involvement was immature as he supported efforts in the 2010 Haiti earthquake, and April 2016 in Ecuador, where he gave humanitarian aid worth over $500,000.
In Ecuador, he funded the rebuilding of a rural school destroyed during the earthquake.
T.B. Joshua sent a team of medical personnel and humanitarian workers to the affected area in Haiti and also instituted a field hospital called ‘Clinique Emmanuel’.
He also supported several groups of Nigerian returnees to settle back into the country, following their attempt to travel illegally to Europe.
One of his most significant reconciliatory efforts was his involvement in the meeting of the family of the late President of Liberia, Samuel Doe, with the former warlord Yormie Johnson, who was responsible for Doe’s death.
The Nigerian government in recognition of his humanitarian activities, gave him a National Honour, Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) in 2008.
The United Nations also gave him a letter of appreciation.
The Arewa Youth Forum, predominantly Muslim organisation, recognised him as Ambassador of Peace and ZAKA, Israel’s primary rescue and recovery voluntary service, gave him an ‘award of excellence’.
Last Days
Prophet TB Joshua’s last words in public were : “Watch and pray.” “One life for Christ is all we have; one life for Christ is so dear”.
T.B. Joshua died on 5 June 2021 after one of his evening services in Lagos, Nigeria, just one week prior to his 58th birthday. He was buried at the SCOAN premises in Ikotun area of the state on the 9th July of 2021.
After His burial, his wife, Evelyn Balogun, was named the new leader of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN).
His marriage with Evelyn was blessed with three children all of whom are girls.
Starnews NG Report
Leave a Reply