A three-part documentary by the British Broadcasting Corporation, BBC has exposed the covert lifestyle and instances of abuse, harassment, rape, manipulation, and staged miracles by late Pastor Temitope Balogun Joshua, widely known as TB, Joshua, the founder of Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN).
DAILY GIST recalls that TB Joshua born in 1963, died on Saturday, June 5, 2021, a week before his 58th birthday, however the cause of his death was not revealed.
BBC said it interviewed at least 30 former members and workers of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) for the documentary.
Eyewitness gave accounts bordering on allegations of sexual assault, physical abuse, solitary confinement, faked miracles and trauma -allegedly suffered in the hands of a late TB Joshua, BBC reports on Monday.
The first segment documentary was release on Monday, January 8.
As unearthed in the documentary, the sexual exploitation by TB Joshua who passed away on June 5, 2021, of members of his congregation spanned over two decades.
The three-part documentary exposes the covert lifestyle of the deceased SCOAN founder, detailing instances of abuse, harassment, rape, manipulation, and staged miracles.
Sources informed the BBC that although the church was awared of all the allegations, they never investigated them. They alleged that the sexual crimes spanned over two decades.
Part of the documentary reveals how SCOAN shielded its congregation from the truth about the collapse of one of the church’s guesthouses in 2014.
A video repeatedly shown to members on Emmanuel TV depicted a brief clip of the structure with what appeared to be an aircraft flying over it.
SCOAN is situated in the Ikotun-Egbe area of Lagos State and grew from a local evangelical church into a multimillion-dollar establishment with worshippers from around the world.
Emmanuel, a former worker at SCOAN, revealed to the BBC that the narrative about an aircraft was entirely false. He asserted that the church building had a structural defect. Additionally, Rae, a British woman who attended the church and was a disciple, corroborated this claim. She added that despite professional advice against it, Joshua insisted on raising the building, which had an inadequate foundation for its constructed floors.
Following the tragedy, SCOAN compensated victims’ families with cash, which some interpreted as “hush money.” Sources revealed that TB Joshua instructed a church worker, part of the team distributing compensation in South Africa, to advise grieving families against speaking to the media. Allegedly, Joshua personally threatened families who refused the money.
“The building collapse is a prime example of life under TB Joshua. It’s a series of cover-ups. This incident was so significant that it was nearly impossible for him to conceal,” Rae said.
The BBC investigation also discovered that individuals were dismembered under the rubble, and deceased bodies were transported in SCOAN ambulances to shield the true extent of the disaster from the press, protecting both the church’s image and TB Joshua.
Survivors of TB Joshua’s sexual exploitation recounted how they were manipulated and silenced, even when aware that the relationship they had with “daddy” was abusive. These women were part of TB Joshua’s discipleship. Multiple women shared their experiences of being molested and raped by him. Some women who initially resisted his assault were threatened into submission, as revealed by one of the women in an interview with the BBC.
According to all the women, TB Joshua justified his sexual assaults by claiming it was for their salvation. These women joined the synagogue as teenagers and endured years of abuse before finally leaving. Abisola, a woman who spent 14 years in the church, disclosed that she was raped throughout her stay. Additionally, when these women became pregnant from the assaults, they were coerced into having abortions at a squalid clinic within the synagogue.
One of the women recounted her experience: “We went into his room, and I stood there. He said, ‘Off your clothes,’ so I removed my clothes. He just pointed, so I lay down, and then he raped me. He broke my virginity. I was screaming, and he was whispering in my ears that I should stop acting like a baby. I was 17 years old. I was underage.’”
One survivor managed to escape and confronted TB Joshua, recording the encounter in videos shared with the BBC. In the video, a security officer was heard threatening to shoot the woman. Survivors detailed being targeted, beaten, and shot at by suspected thugs associated with the pastor.
The BBC’s documentary uncovered how the church orchestrated, managed, and exaggerated miracles showcased on television. Individuals were instructed to amplify their problems for healing, and likewise, their healing was exaggerated to appear “perfected by God,” according to a source from the miracle department interviewed by the BBC.
Rae questioned, “How is somebody like that permitted to walk free? You’ve got this man who positioned himself as a father to many children and went on to rape, abuse, and molest all these people who call him daddy.” Rachel joined the church at 17, hoping to be cured of homosexuality.
Another segment of the investigation delved into how TB Joshua mistreated and ostracised his daughter born out of wedlock. Ajoke, now 28, revealed to the BBC how she confronted her father about sexual abuse allegations and was subsequently expelled from the church. She recounted experiencing isolation and indoctrination and admitted contemplating suicide.
Joshua was popular for his miracles – which ‘delivered’ people – followers and visitors – of any ailment, ranging from cancer and HIV/AIDS to chronic migraines and blindness.
The healings performed by Joshua caught the attention of a far-reaching global audience among evangelical churches throughout Europe and Africa in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Many of his followers were drawn by his philanthropy, but most came for his so-called miracles.
However, the BBC said it conducted a two-year investigation, in collaboration with an international media platform – Open Democracy, which involved more than 15 BBC journalists across three continents.
The report stated that former insiders estimated that Joshua made tens of millions of dollars from pilgrims and other money streams – fundraising, video sales, and stadium appearances abroad.
“More than 25 eyewitnesses and alleged victims, from the UK, Nigeria, Ghana, US, South Africa and Germany, have provided accounts of what it was like inside Joshua’s compound, with the most recent experiences in 2019.
“Testimony from dozens of survivors suggests Joshua was abusing and raping young women from around the world several times a week for nearly 20 years.” the report noted.
One of the victims who was part of the ‘disciples,’ an elite group of followers who served and lived with Joshua inside his compound; 21-year-old female Briton, Rae, gave a recount of her experience.
She was, at that time, studying graphic design at a university in Brighton, UK, in 2002.
A close friend of Rae, Carla, recalled how they both travelled to Nigeria in search of a mysterious man who could seemingly heal people with his hands. He was a Christian pastor, with a black beard, in white robes. His name was TB Joshua. His followers called him “The Prophet.”
Rae and Carla planned to visit his church, the SCOAN, for just one week. But Rae never came home. She had moved into Joshua’s compound.
“I left her there,” says Carla, tears flowing freely. “Never will I ever forgive myself for that.
“For me, it was like she died, but I couldn’t grieve her,” Carla revealed.
Rae, in her account, stated that she was gay and thought being healed by Joshua would solve her predicament.
She narrated, “I was gay and I didn’t want to be,” she says. “I thought: ‘Well, maybe this is the answer to my problems. Maybe this man can straighten me out. Like if he prays for me, I won’t be gay anymore.’”
Rae described the moment she stepped foot into the Synagogue, saying, “I had a really involuntary reaction. I just broke down in floods of tears.”
She stated that at that point, Joshua singled her out to become a “disciple.”
She had thought the clergyman would “cure” her sexuality and learn under his tutelage, but to her imagination, her thought never materialised.
“We all thought we were in heaven, but we were in hell,” adding, “And in hell terrible things happen.”
Rae narrated how she went through psychological trauma for two years, during which she was forbidden from leaving the compound, and nobody inside was allowed to talk to her., adding that she attempted to commit suicide five times.
Many of the victims said it happened frequently – as much as two to four times a week – for the duration of their time in the compound. Some described violent rapes which left them struggling to breathe or bleeding.
Many believed they were the only ones being assaulted and did not dare share what was happening to them with the other disciples, as they were all encouraged to report on each other.
Rae noted that it’s “extremely difficult to understand how somebody can go through psychological abuse to the extent that they lose their critical thinking.”
“I was basically in total isolation… I had a complete breakdown. I tried to commit suicide five times,” she said.
After spending 12 years inside Joshua’s compound, Rae returned to England.
She had slipped away from the disciples while travelling with the church on a tour to Mexico, stating, “He made a huge mistake, he lost control of me.”
Rae stated that it was only after she left that she realised that her family and friends had been sending her emails. She had never received them.
“On the outside, I look normal, but I’m not. This story is like a horror story. It’s like something you watch in fiction, but it’s true,” Rae said while she recalled the tragic trauma and the impacts it’s had on her.
She expressed her disappointment that Joshua didn’t wait to face the consequences of the atrocities he had committed before his death.
“TB Joshua dying before facing justice for the atrocities he committed, has been deeply frustrating. It’s only added to the gross sense of injustice felt by all of us as his victims,” she noted.
BBC stated that it contacted SCOAN with the allegations in the investigation. They did not respond to them but denied previous claims against Joshua.
“Making unfounded allegations against Prophet TB Joshua is not a new occurrence… None of the allegations was ever substantiated,” the church stated.
The BBC stated that former followers have previously tried to speak out about abuse, but say they had been silenced or discredited by SCOAN, while two said they were physically assaulted.
When the BBC’s Africa Eye was filming outside the church, a security guard shot above the heads of the crew after they refused to hand over their material, the report noted.
A Nigerian, Bisola, who was also a ‘disciple,’ stated that she was raped multiple times by the late clergyman.
Bisola, who spent 14 years inside the compound, added that she was asked to recruit virgin girls into the disciple fold under threats of violence.
“TB Joshua asked me to recruit virgins for him… So that he could bring them into the disciple-fold and disvirgin them,” she revealed.
Bisola told the BBC that courting Westerners was a key tactic employed by Joshua
“He used the white people to market his brand,” she said.
The report stated that many of the young people who left their home countries to meet Joshua in the early 2000s didn’t pay for their tickets.
It added that Church groups across England raised funds to send pilgrims to Lagos to witness these miracles – and Joshua contributed Scoan money himself, senior former church insiders said.
Later, once the church was well established, Joshua charged high prices for pilgrims to come and stay.
A broadcast journalist in Namibia, Jessica Kaimu, narrated that she was raped by Joshua at the age of 17, in the bathroom of his penthouse, within weeks of her becoming a disciple.
She stated that Joshua wasn’t moved by her screams, saying, “I was screaming and he was whispering in my ear that I should stop acting like a baby… I was so traumatised, I couldn’t cry.”
Kaimu noted that she was raped for five years throughout her stay as a disciple.
A woman who craved anonymity stated that it happened to her twice before the age of 15.
“It was so painful, he violated me. Words cannot properly express it. It scarred me for life,” she said.
The report noted that there were accounts by four of Joshua’s male personal servants who were given the job of clearing up the physical evidence of this abuse.
“We’d never… seen anything like that before,” said a journalist who covers African religion, Solomon Ashoms, adding, “The mysteries that he had, the secrets that he carried, [were] what people followed.”
Another victim, Victoria (not real name), stated that she spent more than five years in the compound, adding that some victims were often hand-picked by Joshua from the church congregation.
While recounting her ordeal, Victoria said she was picked out while attending the church’s Sunday school, and says she was raped in Joshua’s private quarters a few months later, after her parents entrusted her into his care.
She was later recruited as a resident disciple.
Victoria said Joshua ordered some of his most trusted Nigerian disciples to help identify new victims, identifying the group which was informally known as the “fishing department.”
A former South African disciple, Sihle, narrated that she had three forced abortions in the church.
Sihle said, “You are given a concoction to drink and you get sick. Or they put these metal pieces in your vagina and they extract whatever. And you don’t know whether they’re [accidentally] pulling out your womb.”
The investigative report noted that the disciples served Joshua’s every need, from massages to helping him dress, and spray his perfume when he entered the room.
They also placed plastic gloves on his hands so he could eat his food without touching a crumb.
A man once regarded as Joshua’s number two in the church, Agomoh Paul, who left after 10 years in the compound, revealed that the whole miracle thing was scripted.
“That guy [was] a genius. Everything… [he did was] planned out,” Paul stated.
A major part of this planning was the faking of the “miracles” said Paul, which he noted he oversaw.
He and other sources say that those “cured” had often been paid to perform or exaggerate their symptoms before their supposed healing took place.
In some cases, they say, people had been unknowingly drugged or given medicine to improve their conditions while at the church, and later persuaded to give testimony about their recovery. Others were falsely told they had tested positive for HIV/AIDS and that, thanks to Joshua’s ministrations, they had now become virus-free.
Paul also noted that Joshua “wanted to control everybody, everything. What he was really scrambling for [was] the control of people’s minds.”
The disciples said they were made to work, without pay, for long hours each day – running all aspects of the megachurch. All say sleep deprivation was routine, with lights left on in the dormitories at night, the report stated.
I Witnessed A Lot Of Abortions Done Inside Synagogue – TB Joshua’s Ex-disciple
A Nigerian lady and former disciple of the founder of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), the late TB Joshua, Bisola Afeye, has narrated her experience during her time at the church.
She stated this in an interview with BBC Africa, which conducted an investigation, which allegedly involved extensive research across three continents, and uncovered claims of systematic sexual abuse and rape committed by Joshua.
Bisola said she witnessed “dozens” of abortions during her 14 years inside the church, adding that most of the abortions were carried out at the medical department of the Synagogue.
The former disciple also revealed that she participated because of both “indoctrination” and threats of violence, adding that she herself was repeatedly raped by Joshua.
She said: “TB Joshua asked me to recruit virgins for him… So that he could bring them into the disciple-fold and disvirgin them.
“The disciples served his every need. They gave him massages, helped him dress, and sprayed perfume when he entered the room. They placed plastic gloves on his hands so he could eat his food without touching a crumb.”
Speaking further, Bisola stated that there were times when she would climb to the highest floor of the compound and cry, begging God to save her.
Late TB Joshua Repeatedly Raped Me In His Bathroom – Namibian Journalist
A Namibian journalist, Jessica Kaimu, has accused the founder of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), the late Temitope Joshua, of sexual molestation and rape.
Kaimu stated this in an investigation conducted by BBC Africa to reveal claims of systematic sexual abuse and rape committed by Joshua.
The broadcast journalist stated that she was just 17 and a virgin when Joshua allegedly raped her in the bathroom of his penthouse, within weeks of her becoming a disciple.
She said: “I was screaming, and he was whispering in my ear that I should stop acting like a baby… I was so traumatised, I couldn’t cry.”
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The church, which is still in operation today, is led by his widow, Evelyn.
In his lifetime, Joshua attracted dozens of politicians and celebrities to his church.
