NEWS
BBC Unravels Late TB Joshua’s Atrocities
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has announced plans to release a three-part investigative documentary uncovering alleged atrocities and sexual crimes linked to the late Pastor Temitope Balogun Joshua, also known as TB Joshua.
Scheduled for release on January 8, the documentary explores claims made by approximately 30 ex-members and employees of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN).
Recall that TB Joshua passed away on June 5, 2021.
In the unveiled three-part documentary, the secretive life of the late founder of SCOAN was exposed, uncovering accounts of abuse, harassment, rape, manipulation, and orchestrated miracles.
According to sources interviewed by the BBC, despite being aware of these allegations, the church purportedly failed to conduct any investigations.
Allegations of sexual crimes are reported to have spanned more than twenty years.
A segment of the documentary uncovered SCOAN’s efforts to conceal the truth surrounding the collapse of one of its guesthouses in 2014 from its members.
The documentary highlighted a video repeatedly aired on Emmanuel TV, displaying a brief clip of the structure with an object resembling an aircraft flying overhead.
According to a source who lost her daughter in the collapsed building, “On television, they were showing us the building had been bombed,” reflecting the misinformation provided to the congregation.
Situated in the Ikotun-Egbe area of Lagos State, SCOAN evolved from a local evangelical church into a multimillion-dollar establishment drawing worshippers globally.
Disputing the aircraft story told to members, Emmanuel, a former aide to TB Joshua, asserted to the BBC that the church concealed a structural flaw.
Rae, a British church attendee and disciple, supported this claim, stating that the building’s foundation was inadequate for the constructed floors.
Additionally, she mentioned that despite expert advice, Joshua persisted in raising the building.
In the documentary, Emmanuel, another SCOAN worker, revealed that they were instructed not to disclose their knowledge about the building’s issues.
Despite awareness of the problem, SCOAN managed it internally. The church compensated victims’ families with cash, which some perceived as “hush money.”
According to a church worker involved in distributing the compensation in South Africa, TB Joshua instructed them to advise families against speaking to the media.
Allegedly, the worker stated that Joshua personally threatened those who declined the compensation.
Rae characterized the building collapse as a typical example of the cover-ups prevalent in TB Joshua’s regime, acknowledging the enormity of the incident, making it nearly impossible for him to suppress.
Rae said “The building collapse is a good example of everyday life under TB Joshua. It is just a series of cover-ups. It is just this was so big it was almost impossible for him to make it go away,”
The BBC found that people were dismembered under the rubble and dead bodies were transferred in SCOAN ambulances to shield the reality of the disaster from the press to protect both the image of the church and TB Joshua.
Survivors of TB Joshua’s sexual exploitation narrated how they were manipulated and silenced even when they knew the relationship they had with “daddy” was abusive.
These women were part of TB Joshua’s discipleship.
Multiple women narrated how he molested and raped them. A few women who resisted his assault at first were threatened into submission, one of the women told the BBC.
TB Joshua told the women he was sexually assaulting them for their salvation, all the women said.
These women joined the synagogue when they were teenagers and spent years before finally leaving.
A woman identified as Abisola said she was in the church for 14 years and was raped throughout her stay. When the women get pregnant as a result of being raped many times, they were forced to get an abortion in a dingy clinic inside the synagogue.
One of the women said “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.”
According to a source within the miracle department interviewed by the BBC, the documentary exposed the church’s practice of orchestrating and magnifying miracles televised to the public.
Individuals were allegedly instructed to exaggerate their ailments to facilitate healing and then embellish their healing experiences to demonstrate that it was “perfected by God.”
Rae asked “You’ve got this man who positioned himself as a father with many children and went on to rape, abuse, and molest all these people who call him daddy. How is somebody like that permitted to walk free.”
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar has criticized the federal government’s plan to secure an additional N1.7 trillion loan through Eurobonds to cover a shortfall in the 2024 budget, describing the borrowing as unsustainable and harmful to Nigeria’s economy.
In a statement shared on Thursday via his X (formerly Twitter) handle, Atiku accused the Bola Tinubu-led administration of burdening Nigerians with debt while failing to provide clear answers about the country’s fiscal challenges.
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He also faulted the National Assembly for enabling what he called a “voracious appetite” for loans.
The former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate expressed alarm over a recent World Bank report ranking Nigeria as the third most indebted country to the International Development Association (IDA), calling the development troubling.
“The recent report released by the World Bank, showing Nigeria as the third most indebted country to the International Development Association (IDA), is very concerning,” Atiku stated.
He raised further concerns about the government’s decision to benchmark the proposed loan at an exchange rate of 1 USD to N800, despite the Central Bank of Nigeria’s official rate being over N1,600.
“What makes this particular loan proposal even more concerning is that it is benchmarked at the exchange rate of 1 USD to N800, whereas the current exchange rate from the Central Bank of Nigeria stands at over N1,600 to 1 USD,” he said.
Atiku questioned the need for additional borrowing, given the government’s earlier claims of record-high revenue collection.
“In July this year, Tinubu boasted that the FIRS and Customs under his watch had collected all-time high revenues to finance the budget. Why are they still borrowing?” he said
He accused the government of a lack of transparency, describing the borrowing spree as detrimental to Nigerians already struggling under economic hardship.
“There is something that they are not telling Nigerians, even as they are being crushed by a combination of their failed trial-and-error policies and loan rackets.”
Atiku also referenced a report by BudgIT, a budget monitoring group, which criticized the 2024 budget for its inefficiencies.
He alleged that corruption, rather than infrastructure or development needs, was driving the government’s borrowing decisions.
“These loans are powered by corruption and not for infrastructure and development needs. This voracious appetite for humongous loans is deeply concerning,” he said.
Reflecting on Nigeria’s financial history, Atiku lamented the return to significant foreign indebtedness just years after former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration cleared the country’s debt.
“It is agonizing to see that just a few years after the Obasanjo administration took us out of foreign indebtedness, we are today back at the top spot in the same conundrum,” he stated.
He called for a more cautious approach to borrowing, urging the government to prioritize fiscal responsibility and transparency to avoid worsening Nigeria’s economic challenges.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has taken a historic step, issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
The charges include crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed during Israel’s recent assault on Gaza.
In a detailed statement, the ICC accused the Israeli leaders of “intentionally and knowingly depriving the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity.”
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The ICC’s move marks a significant escalation in international scrutiny of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Netanyahu and Gallant are alleged to have orchestrated policies that caused severe harm to the civilian population in Gaza, leading to widespread condemnation from human rights organizations.
Alongside the charges against Israeli officials, the ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif. Deif has long been a central figure in Hamas’s military operations. Israel’s military claims to have killed him in a July airstrike, although this has not been independently verified.
The warrants highlight growing calls for accountability amid the ongoing conflict in the region. The ICC’s actions are likely to provoke heated debate and may complicate diplomatic efforts aimed at resolving the crisis.
With the warrants issued, global attention now turns to how the international community will respond and whether any practical steps will be taken to enforce them.
Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State has inaugurated a 12-member committee tasked with recovering government vehicles reportedly in private hands.
The committee, led by Kelly Okungbowa, has been given a two-week mandate to retrieve the vehicles and ensure their return to the state government.
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Speaking during the inauguration ceremony in Benin City, Governor Okpebholo emphasized the importance of accountability in the management of public resources.
He urged the committee to carry out its assignment thoroughly and within the bounds of the law.
In his response, Okungbowa expressed gratitude to the governor for entrusting the team with the assignment, vowing to deliver results within the stipulated timeframe.
“A lot of vehicles used by the past administration are missing, as those in custody of the vehicles have refused to return them,” Okungbowa said.
“The governor deemed it fit to inaugurate us today with a mandate to recover all government vehicles in private hands.”
The committee, which includes representatives from Edo’s three senatorial districts, is set to investigate and recover the vehicles based on credible intelligence already at their disposal.
“We already have vital information regarding some persons still holding government vehicles,” Okungbowa stated. “We will do the job according to the law, and both the government and the people will be satisfied with the outcome.”
He also called on members of the public to assist the committee by providing information about any government vehicles that may still be in private possession.
“We want to appeal to members of the public who might be aware of anyone still keeping government vehicles in their houses to please inform us to enable the committee to recover such for the Edo State Government,” Okungbowa said.
The committee’s vice chairman, Rt. Hon. Victor Edoror, a former Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, will work alongside other members to ensure the success of the initiative. The public can reach the committee at 08110165121.
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