Crime
TB Joshua’s Ex-Disciple Reveals Eight-Year Hiding Amidst BBC Investigation
A former follower of the late Prophet Temitope Balogun Joshua, commonly known as TB Joshua, named Paul Agomoh, has revealed that he had to go into hiding for nearly eight years after his initial attempt to expose the activities of the late presiding Pastor of the Synagogue Church of All Nations.
Agomoh shared this information with journalists following a screening of a 150-minute-long investigative report conducted by BBC Africa Eye titled “Disciples: The Cult of TB Joshua.” The event, which took place at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja on Monday evening, featured testimonies from former followers and church workers accusing the late prophet of manipulation and physical abuse.
While mentioning that he was the first Prophet under the SCOAN, Agomoh mentioned that he was pursued across Cotonou, Lagos, and Ghana by loyalists of Prophet TB Joshua, who believed that his revelations were blasphemous against the prophet.
“I was the first prophet of the Synagogue church, and I spent more than a decade in the Synagogue between 1995 and 2006. And I just want to thank the BBC. This is a journey I started in 2009. I released a video with Sister Bisola, ‘The Deception of the Age’. When I left there, the incident that led to my leaving is not a story I can finish here. It is a terrible experience. I decided to leave. When I left, I could not sleep, I could not rest. The burden was so much on me. I had to move out with the help of some pastors in ministry, and my friends.
“We brought this out, but a lot of people said ‘Agomoh has come, he is blaspheming against our man of God’. They started chasing me everywhere. For a good eight years, I laid low, not doing any ministerial job, not doing any public jobs. I laid low, just with the help of a few pastors. About three years ago, was when I started coming out gradually. I was pursued everywhere, from here to Cotonou, you know these are the nearest places you can run to, from Cotonou to Ghana, back to Lagos, I was running,” he said.
The investigation report, according to Peter Ogunmuyiwa, the Archbishop of the African Church in Abuja, was not an indictment against the church but rather against the late Pastor TB Joshua. He pointed out that Joshua could not be considered a criminal because no court had brought charges against him prior to his death.
“It is not an indictment on the church, it is an indictment on who is accused. And it is quite unfortunate that he is not alive to defend himself. All this would have been very good if he was still alive. And when he was alive, what moves were taken to confront these issues and get him convicted? So, he is a dead person now, he is gone, and it is not for us to say he died as a criminal, because no state law convicted him while he was alive.”
Ogunmuyiwa added that while such reports saddened bodies like the Christian Association of Nigeria, of which he was a member, the body did not have legislative powers or a law that covered CAN, to deal with such persons or church. He however called on the government to make laws to regulate churches and license seminaries to tutor pastors.
“I also believe that, if possible, let there be legislation to regulate. So that people will not just be behaving anyhow. You can’t just come out today and say you are a Pastor, which institution, which seminary, which college of theology did you go to before you say you’re a Pastor? And then the government should find a way of registering and then licensing those schools to regulate them, just like we have the university commission. I think it is high time they introduced that into religious bodies also so that we will be getting ministers that are well trained, and that are recognised by the state,” he said.
A former Managing Director of the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company Limited (WRPC), Jimoh Yisawu, has been granted bail in the sum of ₦500 million by the Federal High Court in Abuja after pleading not guilty to an eight-count charge of alleged money laundering filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Yisawu was arraigned on Monday before Justice Inyang Ekwo in a case marked FHC/ABJ/CR/361/2026, over allegations that he violated the provisions of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
SEE MORE: EFCC Files Fraud Charges Against Ex-MDs of Warri, PH Refineries
According to the EFCC, the former refinery boss allegedly indirectly converted more than $789,950, said to be proceeds of unlawful activity, in contravention of Section 18(2)(b) of the Act and punishable under Section 18(3).
The anti-graft agency further alleged that Yisawu made cash payments exceeding $789,950 to one Samaila Bala without using any financial institution, contrary to Nigeria’s anti-money laundering laws.
The commission also accused him of making additional cash payments totalling $122,600 through one Rasheed Olaitan Yusuf, also without routing the transactions through a financial institution.
The defendant, however, pleaded not guilty to all eight counts when they were read to him in court.
Following his plea, defence counsel Wale Balogun (SAN) urged the court to grant his client bail, noting that the EFCC had earlier released him on administrative bail after seizing his international passport.
Balogun appealed to the court to maintain the same bail conditions, arguing that his client needed to prepare adequately for his defence while out on bail.
However, prosecution counsel Ekele Iheanacho (SAN) opposed the application, urging the court to consider the EFCC’s counter-affidavit challenging the defendant’s request for bail.
In his ruling, Justice Ekwo held that the offences contained in the charge were bailable and ruled that Yisawu was entitled to bail.
Relying on Section 162 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, the judge granted the former WRPC boss bail in the sum of ₦500 million, with one surety in like sum.
The court ordered that the surety must be a responsible Nigerian with landed property in Abuja and must provide proof of ownership of the property.
Justice Ekwo also directed Yisawu to surrender his international passport and barred him from travelling outside Nigeria without prior approval from the court.
Pending the fulfilment of the bail conditions, the judge ordered that the former refinery chief remain in the custody of the EFCC.
The matter was subsequently adjourned to October 25, 26 and 27, 2026, for the commencement of trial.
Former Minister of Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, has been granted bail in the sum of N20 million after pleading not guilty to a six-count charge bordering on alleged certificate forgery filed against him by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
Nnaji was arraigned on Monday before the Federal High Court in Abuja, where the ICPC accused him of forging academic credentials, including a degree certificate allegedly issued by the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN).
The anti-corruption agency also alleged that the former minister presented a fake National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate during his ministerial screening in 2023.
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The defendant, who served in President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet as Minister of Science and Technology from August 16, 2023, until his resignation on October 6, 2025, denied all the allegations after the charges were read before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik.
Following a bail application by his lead counsel, Chief James Onoja (SAN), the court admitted Nnaji to bail in the sum of N20 million with one surety in like sum.
Justice Abdulmalik ruled that the surety must be a civil servant resident in Abuja and not below Grade Level 15. The court further directed the surety to depose to an affidavit of means.
As part of the bail conditions, the former minister was ordered to surrender his international passport and barred from travelling outside Nigeria without the court’s permission.
The court subsequently adjourned the matter until July 21, 2026, for the commencement of trial.
Nnaji’s arraignment followed his arrest by security operatives at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on July 1, shortly after returning to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The ICPC had earlier confirmed that the arrest was carried out to facilitate investigations into the allegations against him.
The case is expected to proceed with the presentation of evidence when trial begins later this month.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Wednesday arraigned the immediate past Managing Director of the Port Harcourt Refining Company Limited, Ahmed Dikko, before the Federal High Court in Abuja, over an alleged N1.32bn money laundering scheme linked to the rehabilitation of the state-owned refinery.
Dikko was docked before Justice Inyang Ekwo on a 12-count charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/360/2026 alongside Masterpiece Projects & Investment Limited.
The former refinery boss, who headed the Port Harcourt refinery from March 2020 for about four years, pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
The EFCC alleged that Dikko laundered the sum of N1,322,839,112.70, said to be proceeds linked to contractors engaged by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited for the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery, through cash property purchases, undisclosed bank retentions, concealment of funds through third parties and unauthorised foreign exchange transactions.
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According to the anti-graft agency, one of the charges alleged, “That you, Ahmed Adamu Dikko… did directly make cash payment of the dollar equivalent of the sum of N218,375,000 to one Hadeija Bashir for the purchase of Plot 558, Abubakar Umar Street, Katampe Extension, Abuja without passing through a financial institution,” contrary to the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The commission further alleged in count eight, “That you Ahmed Adamu Dikko… on or about the 26th of June, 2023… disguised the origin of the sum of N328,710,337.50 paid into the GTBank Account… operated by Masterpiece Projects & Investment Limited by OMSA Integrated Services Limited from the transactions involving NNPC Limited allocation of Vacuum Gas Oil for export when you knew that the said sum… constituted proceeds of unlawful activity.”
In count 11, the EFCC accused the former refinery boss of unlawfully converting foreign currency, alleging, “That you, Ahmed Adamu Dikko between October 2022 and May 2025, did convert the aggregate sum of $77,080 through Ibrahim Isa Yaro, which amount did not form part of your known lawful earnings as a former public officer with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd.”
Following his plea, defence counsel, Okechukwu Ajunwa (SAN), urged the court to admit his client to bail pending trial, while EFCC counsel, Ekele Iheanacho (SAN), opposed the application.
In a ruling, Justice Ekwo admitted Dikko to bail in the sum of N150m with one surety in like sum.
The judge held that the surety must reside within the court’s jurisdiction and own landed property valued at not less than the bail sum.
He also directed the defendant to surrender his international passport and ordered that he be remanded in EFCC custody until he fulfilled the bail conditions.
The court subsequently adjourned the matter to October 12, 13 and 14, 2026, for trial.
Courtesy – The Punch
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