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More than two years after his death, Nigeria's most influential Christian evangelist, TB Joshua, was accused of r*pe and torture by his former "disciples." A documentary released by BBC on January 8, 2024, explored the depravity of the alleged abuse that occurred inside his compound in Lagos.
Trigger Warning: The following article talks about r*pe, s*xual abuse, torture, suicide, child abuse, and forced abortions, which may be triggering to some. Readers' discretion is advised.
Temitope Balogun Joshua, who died on June 5, 2021, was the founder of his ministry called The Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) in 1987. He attracted people worldwide who flew to Lagos to see him perform "miracles" on people, like curing HIV and blindness.
But further investigation into the pastor's "miracles" led the BBC to a trail of alleged victims who were reportedly brutalized, beaten, r*ped, and tortured inside his secretive Lagos compound for over 20 years.
According to Forbes, TB Joshua was named one of the richest pastors in Nigeria and was estimated to have a net worth of $10 million - $15 million.
TB Joshua came from humble beginnings
Though he later became one of the richest pastors in Nigeria, TB Joshua had humble beginnings, born to a poor family on June 12, 1963. Joshua said that he was blessed by God since birth, even claiming that he had been in his mother's womb for 15 months.
According to The Sun, he said that, as a young man, he received heavenly visions to serve God.
"I am your God. I am giving you a divine commission to go and carry out the work of the heavenly father," TB Joshua declared God said to him.
He then started SCOAN with eight members in 1987 which soon flourished with people from all over the world visiting him to hear his "prophesies." As per BBC, TB Joshua also went to other countries like the UK, the US, and nations in South America to spread the word of God.
Joshua and SCOAN amassed a global following in the 1990s through a Christian TV channel called Emmanuel TV and through social media platforms, with 6.5 million followers on Facebook. He was dubbed “Oprah of Evangelism” and “YouTube’s most mainstream pastor.”
As his popularity grew, so did his wealth. By the time of his death in 2021, TB Joshua had an estimated net worth of $10 million - $15 million and owned a fleet of luxury cars, including a Range Rover and a Mercedes, and a private jet reportedly worth $60 million, according to Sahara Reporters.
As per Forbes, he donated over $20 million for education, healthcare, and rehabilitation programs for former Niger Delta militants.
TB Joshua allegedly r*ped his disciples and forced them to have abortions
The BBC documentary explores the gruesome happenings inside TB Joshua's Lagos compound with many of his former "disciples" accusing him of allegedly r*ping them, beating them, abusing children, and in some cases, forcing them to have multiple abortions.
According to BBC, one of the alleged r*pe victims was a British woman named Rae, who was only 21 years old when she abandoned her college education to join Joshua in 2002. She spent the next twelve years of her life there, witnessing the horrors that unfolded.
"We all thought we were in heaven, but we were in hell, and in hell terrible things happen," she told the BBC.
Rae was allegedly s*xually assaulted by TB Joshua and was forced into solitary confinement for two years. The abuse was so severe that she tried to commit suicide several times.
Another such victim was Jessica Kaimu from Namibia. She was only 17 years old when Joshua first allegedly r*ped her and the subsequent r*pes led to her having five forced abortions when she was in the compound. In the documentary, she said:
"These were backdoor type… medical treatments that we were going through… it could have killed us."
More than 25 former "disciples" of SCOAN came forward from the UK, Nigeria, the US, South Africa, Ghana, Namibia, and Germany to speak to the BBC. Along with r*pe and s*xual abuse, the victims allegedly endured torture such as being beaten with electrical cables and sleep deprivation.
Multiple eyewitnesses corroborated how Joshua's "miracles" were allegedly faked. According to BBC, SCOAN routinely denied all allegations against the evangelist, stating:
"Making unfounded allegations against Prophet TB Joshua is not a new occurrence… None of the allegations was ever substantiated."
According to The Cable, TB Joshua's cause of death remains unknown though he underwent treatment for a stroke in Turkey two years before his death. The evangelist died a week before his 58th birthday.
He is survived by his wife and his three daughters, Promise, Heart, and Serah. Even after the evangelist's death, SCOAN continues to operate under the leadership of his wife, Evelyn Joshua.
