A public affairs analyst and member of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), Dare Adejumo, has criticized the BBC documentary on the late founder of SCOAN, Temitope Babatunde Joshua, commonly known as TB Joshua.
Adejumo dismissed the documentary as baseless, stating that the individuals interviewed in the report were unknown to the church.
However, a former disciple of TB Joshua, Paul Agomoh, who spoke to the BBC, insisted that the allegations raised in the documentary were true.
Agomoh claimed that he had to go into hiding for eight years after speaking out, as his life was under threat.
“BBC has compromised these lofty principles by descending into fictional narratives and propaganda, thus turning itself into a weapon for a hatchet job as gangsters in the gab of journalism with a destructive ulterior motive for personal gains against a perceived enemy.
“Only BBC can best explain why it woefully deviated from true journalism and chose to be dishing junks and feeding the public with stones called bread by its offensive and disenchanted reports of disgruntled elements.
“This, to say the least, is insulting to our professional and public intelligence. One thing is very obvious, hundreds of BBC charades cannot rubbish the indelible footprints of TB Joshua’s legacies on earth again,” Adejumo said.
According to the report, at least 25 individuals provided eyewitness accounts of alleged sexual assault, physical abuse, fake miracles, and trauma they purportedly experienced at the hands of TB Joshua. The BBC report, published on Monday, detailed these accounts.
In a statement personally signed by Dare Adejumo, he dismissed the BBC report, accusing the media organization of resorting to fictional narratives and propaganda. He claimed that the BBC had deviated from true journalism and was conducting a crude hatchet job against a perceived enemy for personal gain.
Adejumo further criticized the BBC’s depiction of individuals interviewed in the documentary, stating that some of them were associated with homosexual and lesbian activities.
He expressed disbelief at the allegations made in the documentary, questioning why the interviewees had remained silent for decades before speaking out after TB Joshua’s passing.
Adejumo insinuated that the sponsors of the BBC documentary were envious of the continued growth of SCOAN.
He thanked the BBC for exonerating TB Joshua’s wife of any wrongdoing but called the report illogical, incomprehensible, and malicious.
TB Joshua, one of Africa’s most influential religious leaders and wealthy pastors, gained international prominence during his lifetime.
He founded the Synagogue Church of All Nations, a 12-storey building in Lagos State, where he and his followers resided.
Known for performing miracles, TB Joshua was reputed to have healed numerous ailments, including cancer, HIV/AIDS, and blindness.
On the other hand, Paul Agomoh, a former disciple of TB Joshua, claimed to be the first prophet under SCOAN. He revealed that he faced a terrible experience during his time there and had to go into hiding for eight years after leaving the church.
Agomoh expressed his gratitude to the BBC for shedding light on the situation and shared his years of struggle in speaking out against the alleged wrongdoing within SCOAN.
The BBC documentary has sparked controversy and raised questions about the conduct and practices of TB Joshua and SCOAN. As more information surfaces, it remains to be seen how this will impact the public’s perception of the late religious leader and his church.
By Vincent Kubi