1 of 8 TB Joshua, founder of one of the largest evangelical Christian churches in the world, died in 2021 Photo: GETTY IMAGES TB Joshua, founder of one of the largest evangelical Christian churches in the world, died in 2021 Photo: GETTY IMAGES
The BBC has uncovered evidence of widespread abuse and torture by the founder of one of the world's largest evangelical Christian churches.
Dozens of former Synagogue Church of All Nations (Scoan) members said they were victims of atrocities committed by TB Joshua, including sexual abuse and forced abortions.
The Nigerian, who died in 2021, was a charismatic preacher who had thousands of followers worldwide.
According to the allegations, the abuse occurred over nearly 20 years at a church complex in Lagos, Nigeria's largest city.
The Synagogue Church of All Nations did not respond to the BBC's request for comment but denied previous allegations.
The BBC's twoyear investigation collected eyewitness accounts of physical violence or torture by Joshua, including cases of child abuse and flogging and shackling people.
Warning: This report contains details that some readers may find disturbing.
One of the victims, a British woman named Rae, was 21 when she dropped out of the University of Brighton in England in 2002 and was recruited by the church.
She spent the next 12 years as part of Joshua's “disciples” in his labyrinthine compound in Lagos.
“We all thought we were in heaven, but we were in hell, and terrible things happen in hell,” she tells the BBC.
Rae says she was sexually abused by Joshua and subjected to a form of solitary confinement for two years.
The abuse was so severe that she said she attempted suicide several times within the complex.
The Synagogue Church of All Nations has followers around the world and operates a television channel called Emmanuel TV and social media with millions of followers.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, tens of thousands of pilgrims from Europe, America, Southeast Asia and Africa traveled to Nigeria to witness TB Joshua perform “miracles of healing.”
At least 150 visitors lived with him as students at his compound in Lagos, sometimes for decades.
The Christian priest with a black beard and white robe was called “The Prophet” by his followers.
2 of 8 Rae spent 12 years on Joshua's grounds Photo: BBC Rae spent 12 years on Joshua's grounds Photo: BBC
Today Rae is back in England and lives in a country village. She is a smiling person, but there is a restlessness that never goes away.
“I look normal on the outside, but I’m not,” she says.
The BBC investigation, in collaboration with the international media platform Open Democracy, involved more than 15 journalists on three continents.
Video recordings, documents and hundreds of hours of interviews were used to support Rae's testimony and uncover other stories.
More than 25 eyewitnesses and alleged victims from Great Britain, Nigeria, Ghana, the USA, South Africa and Germany reported on life on Joshua's compound. The most recent experiments date from 2019.
Former followers have tried to report abuse in the past, but say they were silenced or discredited by Scoan two even say they were physically assaulted.
When BBC program Africa Eye attempted to film outside the church, a security guard shot in the air after the crew refused to release recorded footage.
The man at the center of Scoan is considered one of the most influential pastors in African history. He died unexpectedly in June 2021, just days after many of the initial interviews that make up this report were recorded.
On the day of TB Joshua's funeral, the city of Lagos came to a standstill as mourning crowds took to the streets.
Approximately 50,000 people attended Joshua's services each week and the church became an important location for foreign visitors to Nigeria.
The Synagogue Church of All Nations remains popular today and is led by Joshua's widow Evelyn and a new team of disciples.
3 of 8 TB Joshua was extremely influential in Nigeria and around the world Photo: GETTY IMAGES TB Joshua was extremely influential in Nigeria and around the world Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Many of his followers were drawn to philanthropy, but most came to church because of Joshua's alleged miracles.
In videos, individuals testify on camera that they were healed from illnesses ranging from cancer and HIV/AIDS to chronic migraines and blindness after Joshua prayed for them.
Several shots show men with severely infected genitals miraculously healing when he raises his arm in prayer.
In other cases, women appear to have difficulty giving birth until Joshua approaches and the baby is delivered without any problems.
Rae, who grew up with conservative Christian values, says she decided to travel to Lagos after seeing the videos.
“I was gay and didn’t want to be,” she says. “I thought, 'Maybe this is the answer to my problems. Maybe this man can enlighten me. If he would pray for me, I wouldn't be gay anymore.'”
Another Brit, Anneka, says she was also fascinated by the videos.
4 out of 8 Anneka says videos of Joshua's 'miracles' made her want to travel to Nigeria and join the church Photo: BBC Anneka says videos of Joshua's 'miracles' made her want to travel to Nigeria and join the church to join Photo: BBC
“There was complete silence in the whole room,” she says, describing the moment her church congregation first saw the tapes when she was 16 years old.
“Jesus would have done that,” she remembers thinking when she first saw the videos. She also traveled to Nigeria.
Neither Rae nor Anneka paid for their tickets. Like many of the young people who left their homes to meet Joshua in the early 2000s, they received funds raised by religious groups across England to send pilgrims to Lagos.
Bisola, a Nigerian who spent 14 years at the site, says wooing Western visitors was a key tactic of the church.
“He used white people to promote his brand,” she says.
Sources estimate that Joshua has raised tens of thousands of dollars from pilgrims and other sources (fundraisers, video sales and stadium appearances abroad).
He rose from poverty to become one of the richest pastors in Africa.
5 out of 8 Bisola says she was forced by Joshua to choose young women for him to abuse Photo: BBC Bisola says she was forced by Joshua to choose young women for him to abuse Photo: BBC
“He asked me to recruit virgins”
“TB Joshua asked me to recruit virgins for him… So that he could take them into the group of disciples and devirginize them,” Bisola tells the BBC.
She claimed she cooperated with the church because of “indoctrination” and after receiving threats of violence.
Bisola claims she was repeatedly raped by Joshua.
Several women say they were under the legal age, which is 18 in Lagos, when they were sexually assaulted or raped.
The crime of rape is punishable by death in Nigeria.
Jessica Kaimu, now a journalist in Namibia, says she was just 17 and a virgin when Joshua raped her in the bathroom of his penthouse, just weeks after she became his student.
6 out of 8 Jessica Kaimu says she was repeatedly raped by TB Joshua Photo: BBC Jessica Kaimu says she was repeatedly raped by TB Joshua Photo: BBC
“I screamed and he whispered in my ear to stop acting like a baby… I was so traumatized I couldn't cry,” she says.
According to Kaimu, this meeting was repeated countless times during the five years she spent as a student.
Her account is similar to that of other women who spoke to the BBC, as well as four of Joshua's personal aides who were tasked with deleting physical evidence of his abuse.
Many details of the respondents' statements are too graphic to be published.
These include several firsthand accounts from women who said they were stripped naked and raped with objects including one who claims she was abused twice before the age of 15.
“It was so painful,” said the woman, who asked that her identity be protected.
“I can't put into words what I've been through. It shaped me for the rest of my life.”
Several respondents who claim they were raped and impregnated by Joshua recounted how they were subjected to forced abortions on church grounds in an area known as the “medical ward” or “clinic.”
“It all happened in secret,” says Sihle, a former student from South Africa who claims she had three forced abortions in the church.
“You were given a mixture to drink and started vomiting. Or they stuck pieces of metal into your vagina and extracted whatever it was. And you couldn’t tell if they were there.” [acidentalmente] Rip out your uterus.
Sihle cried during the interview, as did Jessica, who says she has had five forced abortions.
Bisola claims to have witnessed “dozens” of miscarriages during his 14 years at the church.
According to her, she went to the top floor of the complex several times, crying and begging God to save her.
According to the testimonies, the disciples met all of Joshua's needs.
They massaged him, helped him dress, and sprayed him with perfume as Joshua entered the rooms.
They also put plastic gloves on him so he could eat without touching anything.
Instead of calling him by name, everyone was encouraged to refer to Joshua as “Papa” or “Papai” in the literal translation into Portuguese.
It is not uncommon for Nigerian pastors to be addressed in this way in the Pentecostal tradition, but the disciples claim he insisted on this label.
“My mind felt like it was disturbed,” says Anneka.
“There was no cognitive clarity… Reality was completely distorted,” he adds.
The layout of the complex added to this sense of confusion.
7 of 8 Scoan continues to operate under the leadership of Joshua's widow Evelyn Photo: BBC Scoan continues to operate under the leadership of Joshua's widow Evelyn Photo: BBC
“It was a maze of stairs,” Rae says.
In 2014, a sixstory house for international guests at the complex collapsed, killing at least 116 people.
A later local government report concluded that structural defects and shoddy work were the cause of the collapse.
No one was ever prosecuted for the incident.
Some of those interviewed by the BBC say they believe the death toll was significantly higher than was reported they say several Nigerian nationals who worked at the guesthouse were not listed as victims and church members hid their bodies overnight.
Sources further claim that Joshua blocked emergency services from assisting in the rescue efforts immediately after the collapse out of concern for his public image.
The priest's control over the disciples' access to the outside world was also very strict.
According to those interviewed, he restricted access to phones and email accounts.
According to Rae, it was only after she left the service that she became aware that emails were being sent to her from her family and friends, but she never received them.
“He wanted to control everything, everyone,” says Agomoh Paul, a man once considered Joshua’s number two in the church.
“What he really sought was control over people’s minds.”
The disciples went on to say that they were forced to work for hours every day without pay, running every aspect of the megachurch.
They all said that sleep deprivation was commonplace and that the lights were left on in the dormitories at night.
Anneka said they never slept more than four hours at a time.
8 of 8 In the Synagogue Church of All Nations in Lagos, founded by TB Joshua Photo: BBC In the Synagogue Church of All Nations in Lagos, founded by TB Joshua Photo: BBC
If someone was caught napping without permission or breaking other rules, they were punished.
Nineteen former students reported witnessing violent attacks or torture on the campus, carried out by Joshua or on his orders.
Others reported being stripped naked and whipped with electric cables and a horsewhip called a koboko.
Among the people allegedly attacked were minors, including a sevenyearold student.
The complex in Lagos had almost 4 meter high walls and armed guards.
But what really held the disciples captive was the fanatical loyalty and deeprooted fear that the priest cultivated.
“It was a psychological prison,” Rae summarizes.
“It is extremely difficult to understand how someone can endure psychological abuse to the point where they lose critical thinking,” he adds.
The BBC contacted Scoan and presented the allegations made through the investigation. The church did not respond but denied previous allegations against TB Joshua.
“It is not a new occurrence to make unsubstantiated allegations against Prophet TB Joshua… None of the allegations have been substantiated,” the church said in a statement.
Maggie Andresen, Yemisi Adegoke and Ines Ward worked together