Nigerian megachurch leader raped and tortured his followers – BBC

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Nigerian “megachurch” leader Temitope Balogun Joshua, who died in 2021, raped and tortured his followers.

This is stated in the BBC investigation, which was conducted for 2 years in cooperation with the international media platform openDemocracy.

Former members of the church said that Ti. Bi. Joshua raped young women from all over the world several times a week for almost 20 years, and forced those who became pregnant as a result of the violence to have abortions.

According to the victims, the man forced the “students” to call him “daddy” (Daddy) and serve him, and beat him for disobedience.

Here are the key facts about the scandalous “prophet”.

Source: regionweek

Who is Ti? Bi. Joshua?

Temitope Balogun Joshua (T.B. Joshua) was the leader of the Synagogue, Church of All Nations (SCOAN), a megachurch located in Lagos that also operates the Nigerian television station Emmanuel TV.

The peak of the popularity of the “prophet” fell in the 1990s and early 2000s. Joshua built a large compound where he lived with his many followers. The 12-story complex had many rooms, including a hidden prayer room full of mirrors and a “clinic.”

During his religious services, Ti. Bi. Joshua proclaimed “healing” from homosexuality and diseases, including HIV/AIDS, blindness, and cancer. These sermons were shown on television.

Joshua himself drew huge crowds on tours of Africa, Asia and Latin America, and his church was drawing about 15,000 people a week before the pandemic hit.

However, a week before his 58th birthday, on June 5, 2021, Joshua died suddenly. The exact reason was not announced, but according to some versions, he could have been killed.

A few months after the death of the leader, the church resumed its activities. It is now headed by Joshua’s widow, Evelyn.

Former members of the megachurch had already tried to press charges against Joshua, but the SCOAN silenced them. At least two of the victims claim that they were physically abused.

2 years ago, more than 15 BBC journalists on different continents started an investigation. They collected accounts of numerous crimes from 25 witnesses or victims from the UK, Nigeria, Ghana, the US, South Africa and Germany.

What did the investigators find?

It turned out that the followers of the sect suffered from rape, forced nudity, forced abortions, physical and psychological violence.

One woman said Joshua “picked on” her while she was attending Sunday school at the church and then raped her – months after her parents placed her in his care.

After that, Joshua asked the girl to “recruit” virgin girls to the sect so that he could deprive them of their virginity. Some of the victims were underage at the time of the rape.

When the girls became pregnant by the “prophet”, they had abortions in a special room in the same complex.

A former student from South Africa, Seele, said that she had three forced abortions in the church.

Joshua forced the disciples to work without pay, to manage all aspects of the life of the megachurch and to serve him in every way.

They massaged him, helped him get dressed, sprayed him with perfume when he entered the room, put plastic gloves on his hands so he could eat without touching the food.

Students could not even sleep without the leader’s permission, and those who broke the rules were severely punished.

Nineteen former students said they witnessed attacks and torture in the church, which Joshua often carried out himself.

Students were stripped, tortured with electric shocks, beaten with wires and whips. Among the followers of the church who were tortured were 7-year-old children.

Journalists also collected evidence that Joshua staged his “miraculous healings”, which were broadcast to millions of people on TV.

All the victims interviewed by the BBC talked about indoctrination, pressure and “brainwashing” in the megachurch.

The “Synagogue, Church of All Nations” has not yet responded to the accusations.

Read also: Killed and starved children “for the sake of Jesus”: what is known about the totalitarian sect in Kenya

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