A recent report by BBC has revealed the widespread abuse and torture by the founder of one of the world’s biggest Christian evangelical churches.
Dozens of ex-Synagogue Church of All of all Nations (SCOAN) members – five British – alleged atrocities, including rape and forced abortions, by the founder of the church, late Prophet Temitope Balogun Joshua, popularly referred to as TB Joshua.
According to the BBC investigative report, the allegations of abuse in a secretive Lagos compound spanned almost 20 years.
BBC reports that the Synagogue Church of All Nations did not respond to the allegations, but said previous claims have been unfounded.
TB Joshua, who died in 2021, was a charismatic and hugely successful preacher and televangelist who had an immense global following.
The BBC’s findings over a two-year investigation include:
- Dozens of eyewitness accounts of physical violence or torture carried out by Joshua, including instances of child abuse and people being whipped and chained
- Numerous women who say they were sexually assaulted by Joshua, with a number claiming they were repeatedly raped for years inside the compound
- Multiple allegations of forced abortions inside the church following the alleged rapes by Joshua, including one woman who says she had five terminations
- Multiple first-hand accounts detailing how Joshua faked his “miracle healings”, which were broadcast to millions of people around the world
More than 25 former “disciples” spoke to the BBC – from the UK, Nigeria, US, South Africa, Ghana, Namibia and Germany – giving powerful corroborating testimony about their experiences within the church, with the most recent experiences in 2019. Many victims were in their teens when they first joined. In some of the British cases, their transport to Lagos was paid for by Joshua, in co-ordination with other UK churches.
Jessica Kaimu, from Namibia, says her ordeal lasted more than five years. She says she was 17 when Joshua first raped her, and that subsequent instances of rape by TB Joshua led to her having five forced abortions while there.
“These were backdoor type… medical treatments that we were going through… it could have killed us,” she told the BBC.
Other interviewees say they were stripped and beaten with electrical cables and horse whips, and routinely denied sleep.
One of the victims, a British woman, called Rae, said she was 21 years old when she abandoned her degree at Brighton University in 2002 and was recruited into the church. She added that she spent the next 12 years as one of Joshua’s so-called “disciples” inside his maze-like concrete compound in Lagos.
“We all thought we were in heaven, but we were in hell, and in hell terrible things happen,” she told the BBC.
Rae revealed that she was sexually assaulted by Joshua and subjected to a form of solitary confinement for two years. The abuse, according to her, was so severe, as she added that she attempted suicide multiple times inside the compound.
A number of witnesses in Nigeria also claimed that they were physically attacked, and in one case shot at, after previously speaking out against the abuse and posting videos containing allegations on YouTube.
BBC further reports that a BBC crew that attempted to record footage of the church’s Lagos compound from a public street in March 2022 was also fired at by the church’s security, and was detained for a number of hours.
Four of the British citizens who spoke to the BBC stated that they reported the abuse to the UK authorities after escaping the church, adding that no further action was taken.
In addition, a British man and his wife emailed eyewitness accounts of their ordeal and video evidence – including recordings of being held at gunpoint by men describing themselves as police who are also members of Scoan – to the British High Commission in Nigeria in March 2010 after fleeing the church. In his email, the man said his wife had been repeatedly sexually assaulted and raped by Joshua. He warned the commission that other British nationals were still inside the compound facing atrocities.
He also added that no action was taken.
Anneka, who left Derby in the UK to join Scoan at the age of 17, told the BBC she believes there are many other victims who have yet to speak out. She hopes further steps will be taken to uncover Joshua’s actions.
“I believe the Synagogue Church of All Nations needs a thorough investigation into why this man was able to function for so long the way he did,” she was quoted to have said.