Nigeria’s most prominent Christian televangelist physically and sexually abused dozens of his followers in crimes that spanned continents and went on for decades, a new investigation has alleged.
Temitope Balogun Joshua, known as TB Joshua, founded one of Nigeria’s biggest churches, called the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), in 1987. But according to BBC reporting, he committed sexual crimes against his followers “on a mass scale” until his death, aged 57, in 2021.
Allegations against him include rape, sexual assault, forced abortions and violent assaults including being whipped and tied up with chains, as well as sleep deprivation and isolation.
The background
TB Joshua was regarded as “one of the most influential pastors in African history” before his sudden death in 2021, soon after the BBC and openDemocracy began investigating the church leader.
Joshua’s global television and social media operation was “among the most successful Christian networks in the world” with viewers across many continents, said the BBC. His church lives on despite his death, now being led by his widow Evelyn and “a new team of disciples”.
Joshua was well known for his so-called “miracles”, many of which were documented on his Emmanuel TV network. The channel featured footage of people “allegedly healed from HIV/Aids, cancer and paralysis” among other ailments, said openDemocracy.
OpenDemocracy first began looking into allegations of abuse by Joshua in 2021. It found that he “weaponised homophobic teachings to promote fake cures for what he called the ‘demon’ of homosexuality”, leading to his TV channel – which at the time had around 5.6 million subscribers – being shut down by YouTube.
The latest
More than 25 of Joshua’s former followers gave testimony as part of a two-year joint investigation.
The evidence gathered by the news organisations suggests that Joshua was “abusing and raping young women from around the world several times a week for nearly 20 years”, said the BBC.
Five of the people interviewed were British women, including Rae, who was 21 in 2002 when she abandoned her graphic design degree in Brighton to travel to Lagos, Nigeria.
Coming from a conservative Christian background, she said she turned to Joshua for help because she was gay and “didn’t want to be”, she told the broadcaster. She was soon recruited into the church and would spend the next 12 years as one of Joshua’s so-called “disciples” inside his compound in Lagos.
Rae told the BBC that she was sexually assaulted by Joshua and underwent further abuse by being subjected to isolation for two years. She said the abuse was so severe she attempted suicide several times.
“We all thought we were in heaven, but we were in hell, and in hell terrible things happen,” she said.
Another former disciple, Jessica Kaimu, from Namibia, recounted how she was first raped by Joshua at the age of 17.
She was forced to undergo five abortions during her five years in the compound, in what she called “backdoor type medical treatments”, which “could have killed” her and other disciples forced into the procedure.
Multiple former followers of the church alleged that disciples were subjected to forced abortions.
The reaction
The investigation, which has been turned into a three-part BBC documentary series, has been trending in Nigeria and Ghana on social media site X, where the revelations have provoked “mixed reactions”, said Business Day.
Some have defended the controversial pastor and alleged he had healed them from ailments. “I had a heart issue from Kenya and got healed when he prayed for me in 2014. Have you ever called me to testify what God did to me through him?” said one person on YouTube.
Others, however, have expressed shock at the revelations and called for a “thorough investigation”, said Africa News.
One social media user described the documentary as a “roller coaster ride”. They added: “First I was like why will they wait for him to die before they drop it knowing he can’t defend himself? after the last episode, I’m just sitting here in tears. idk if it’s anger, disappointment, disbelief or pain.”
The church has not responded to specific claims made by the BBC and openDemocracy, but in a statement said: “Making unfounded allegations against Prophet TB Joshua is not a new occurrence. None of the allegations was ever substantiated.”
The late church leader allegedly subjected followers to sexual assault and abuse over nearly 20 years
