TB Joshua (late)
*Include rape and forced abortions
* 5 Britons other victims give evidence
* Blackmail targeted at Evelyn says fb user
Agency report
Evidence of widespread abuse and torture by the founder of one of the world’s biggest Christian evangelical churches has been uncovered by the BBC.
Dozens of ex-Synagogue Church of all Nations members – five British – allege atrocities, including rape and forced abortions, by Nigeria’s late TB Joshua.
The allegations of abuse in a secretive Lagos compound span almost 20 years.
The Synagogue Church of All Nations did not respond to the allegations but said previous claims have been unfounded.
TB Joshua, who died in 2021, was a charismatic and hugely successful preacher and televangelist who had an immense global following.
The BBC’s findings over a two-year investigation include:
* Dozens of eyewitness accounts of physical violence or torture carried out by Joshua, including instances of child abuse and people being whipped and chained
* Numerous women who say they were sexually assaulted by Joshua, with a number claiming they were repeatedly raped for years inside the compound
* Multiple allegations of forced abortions inside the church following the alleged rapes by Joshua, including one woman who says she had five terminations
* Multiple first-hand accounts detailing how Joshua faked his “miracle healings”, which were broadcast to millions of people around the world
One of the victims, a British woman, called Rae, was 21 years old when she abandoned her degree at Brighton University in 2002 and was recruited into the church. She spent the next 12 years as one of Joshua’s so-called “disciples” inside his maze-like concrete compound in Lagos.
“We all thought we were in heaven, but we were in hell, and in hell terrible things happen,” she told the BBC.
Rae says she was sexually assaulted by Joshua and subjected to a form of solitary confinement for two years. The abuse was so severe, she says she attempted suicide multiple times inside the compound.
The Synagogue Church of All Nations [Scoan] has a global following, operating a Christian TV channel called Emmanuel TV and social media networks with millions of viewers. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, tens of thousands of pilgrims from Europe, the Americas, South East Asia and Africa travelled to the church in Nigeria to witness Joshua performing “healing miracles”. At least 150 visitors lived with him as disciples inside his compound in Lagos, sometimes for decades.
More than 25 former “disciples” spoke to the BBC – from the UK, Nigeria, US, South Africa, Ghana, Namibia and Germany – giving powerful corroborating testimony about their experiences within the church, with the most recent experiences in 2019. Many victims were in their teens when they first joined. In some of the British cases, their transport to Lagos was paid for by Joshua, in co-ordination with other UK churches.
Rae and multiple other interviewees compared their experiences to being in a cult.
Jessica Kaimu, from Namibia, says her ordeal lasted more than five years. She says she was 17 when Joshua first raped her, and that subsequent instances of rape by TB Joshua led to her having five forced abortions while there.
“These were backdoor type… medical treatments that we were going through… it could have killed us,” she told the BBC.
Other interviewees say they were stripped and beaten with electrical cables and horse whips, and routinely denied sleep.
On his death in June 2021, TB Joshua was hailed as one of the most influential pastors in African history. Rising from poverty, he built an evangelical empire that counted dozens of political leaders, celebrities and international footballers among his associates.
He did, however, attract some controversy during his lifetime when a guesthouse for church pilgrims collapsed in 2014, killing at least 116 people.
The BBC’s investigation, which was carried out with international media platform Open Democracy, is the first time multiple former church insiders have come forward to speak on the record. They say they’ve spent years trying to raise the alarm, but have effectively been silenced.
A number of our witnesses in Nigeria claim they were physically attacked, and in one case shot at, after previously speaking out against the abuse and posting videos containing allegations on YouTube.
A BBC crew that attempted to record footage of the church’s Lagos compound from a public street in March 2022 was also fired at by the church’s security, and was detained for a number of hours.
The BBC contacted Scoan with the allegations in our investigation. It did not respond to them, but denied previous claims against TB Joshua.
“Making unfounded allegations against Prophet TB Joshua is not a new occurrence… None of the allegations was ever substantiated,” it wrote.
Four of the British citizens who spoke to the BBC say they reported the abuse to the UK authorities after escaping the church. They say no further action was taken.
In addition, a British man and his wife emailed eyewitness accounts of their ordeal and video evidence – including recordings of being held at gunpoint by men describing themselves as police who are also members of Scoan – to the British High Commission in Nigeria in March 2010 after fleeing the church. In his email, the man said his wife had been repeatedly sexually assaulted and raped by Joshua. He warned the commission that other British nationals were still inside the compound facing atrocities.
He also says no action was taken.
The UK Foreign Office did not respond to these claims, but told the BBC that it takes all reports of crime, including sexual assault and violence against British nationals overseas, very seriously.
Scoan continues to thrive today, under the leadership of Joshua’s widow, Evelyn. In July 2023, she led a tour of Spain.
Anneka, who left Derby in the UK to join Scoan at the age of 17, told the BBC she believes there are many other victims who have yet to speak out. She hopes further steps will be taken to uncover Joshua’s actions.
“I believe the Synagogue Church of All Nations needs a thorough investigation into why this man was able to carry on for long,” she said.
But reacting to the story, a Facebook user described the BBC report as a product of blackmail meant to discredit Prophetess Evelyn Joshua, wife of late TB Joshua by former aides of the dead prophet who had been in rivalry with the widow over control of Scoan. For the fb user, since they, former wise men, could not have their way, Evelyn too would not have her way hence, they caused the BBC story.
“As you watch TB Joshua’s documentary pls bear what am about to say in mind.
“This is not me supporting him but I want to state some facts as I have been following this story since he passed.
“So if your a conversant with Scoan(Synagogue church of all nations) you will know TB Joshua has wise men and disciples.
“85% of these wise men and disciples are foreigners.
“Before the prophet passed, these wise men and disciples were very powerful.
“Most Sundays they handle deliverance, prayers and ministrations.
“Also bear in mind TB Joshua had a wife Evelyn, she is also a prophetess. She was a prophetess before the TB married her.
“While her hubby was still alive, she comes out ones in a while to preach and join in ministering to church members.
“At some point she had a baby or something and now faced home and she rarely preached or do the Sunday deliverance.
“Tb Joshua had an overwhelming membership and couldn’t handle the prayer line alone, so he ordained those wise men and Disciples.
“Many of these wise men started acting like him, some became very powerful. Some left to start their respective ministry
“People like wise man Daniel and wise man John chi, they left while TB Joshua was still alive.
“But he still had lots of wise men and disciples many of them are not Nigerians.
Now this is were the story gets interesting
“Allegedly when TB Joshua died, these Wise men and Disciples took charge of the church.
“They said that the prophet intended they take over.
“That TB Joshua told them that they will take over from him..
“These guys relegated Evelyn TB Joshua’s wife to the background, don’t forget she is a prophetess.
“This rancor went full blown, these disciples and wise men fought Evelyn so much, they didn’t want her to even appear in the church.
“They oppressed her so much that one day Evelyn woke up, I don’t know who helped her sha.
“But it was alleged that she used the immigration and deported all those foreigners who wanted to take over the church from her, they way the deported all of them it was so funny.
“She dealt with the foreigners and some of the Nigerians that joined the foreign wise men and disciples.
“She is currently the lead pastor of Scoan, she has fully taken over the church, guess what ? The church is booming.
“Evelyn has a special gift of healing, her church services are packed out just like when her hubby was still alive.
“After reading this story, you should know why that stup!d story of Tb Joshua is surfacing now.
“Evenly is the target, how dare she try to fight to take over the church from foreigners oshi…
“It is giving the vibes of “if we can’t have the church, let’s cripple it”
“TB Joshua is dead, what’s the essence of the story, to arrest a dead man? Or for what?
“Before you join to start bashing, give it a deep thought.” The Facebook user said.
Credit: BBC/FB
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