Joshua, one of Africa’s most influential religious leaders and richest pastors, had the world at his feet during his lifetime.

He was the founder of the Synagogue Church of All Nations, a 12-storey building, situated in the Ikotun area of  Lagos State, where he lived alongside many of his followers.

Joshua was popular for his miracles – which ‘delivered’ people – followers and visitors – of any ailment, ranging from cancer and HIV/AIDS to chronic migraines and blindness.

The healings performed by Joshua caught the attention of a far-reaching global audience among evangelical churches throughout Europe and Africa in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Many of his followers were drawn by his philanthropy, but most came for his so-called miracles.

the clergy, born in 1963, died on Saturday, June 5, 2021, a week before his 58th birthday.

The cause of his death was not revealed.

However, a statement by the church said the clergyman spent his last moment on earth in the service of God.

However, the BBC said it conducted a two-year investigation, in collaboration with an international media platform – Open Democracy, which involved more than 15 BBC journalists across three continents.

The report stated that former insiders estimated that Joshua made tens of millions of dollars from pilgrims and other money streams – fundraising, video sales, and stadium appearances abroad.

The investigation centered around allegations of sexual assault, physical abuse, solitary confinement, and fake miracles, amongst others.

“More than 25 eyewitnesses and alleged victims, from the UK, Nigeria, Ghana, US, South Africa and Germany, have provided accounts of what it was like inside Joshua’s compound, with the most recent experiences in 2019.

“Testimony from dozens of survivors suggests Joshua was abusing and raping young women from around the world several times a week for nearly 20 years.” the report noted.

One of the victims who was part of the ‘disciples,’ an elite group of followers who served and lived with Joshua inside his compound; 21-year-old female Briton, Rae, gave a recount of her experience.

She was, at that time, studying graphic design at a university in Brighton, UK, in 2002.

A close friend of Rae, Carla, recalled how they both travelled to Nigeria in search of a mysterious man who could seemingly heal people with his hands. He was a Christian pastor, with a black beard, in white robes. His name was TB Joshua. His followers called him “The Prophet.”

Rae and Carla planned to visit his church, the SCOAN, for just one week. But Rae never came home. She had moved into Joshua’s compound.

“I left her there,” says Carla, tears flowing freely. “Never will I ever forgive myself for that.

“For me, it was like she died, but I couldn’t grieve her,” Carla revealed.

Rae, in her account, stated that she was gay and thought being healed by Joshua would solve her predicament.

She narrated, “I was gay and I didn’t want to be,” she says. “I thought: ‘Well, maybe this is the answer to my problems. Maybe this man can straighten me out. Like if he prays for me, I won’t be gay anymore.’”

Rae described the moment she stepped foot into the Synagogue, saying, “I had a really involuntary reaction. I just broke down in floods of tears.”

She stated that at that point, Joshua singled her out to become a “disciple.”

She had thought the clergyman would “cure” her sexuality and learn under his tutelage, but to her imagination, her thought never materialised.

“We all thought we were in heaven, but we were in hell,” adding, “And in hell terrible things happen.”

Rae narrated how she went through psychological trauma for two years, during which she was forbidden from leaving the compound, and nobody inside was allowed to talk to her., adding that she attempted to commit suicide five times.

Many of the victims said it happened frequently – as much as two to four times a week – for the duration of their time in the compound. Some described violent rapes which left them struggling to breathe or bleeding.

Many believed they were the only ones being assaulted and did not dare share what was happening to them with the other disciples, as they were all encouraged to report on each other.

Rae noted that it’s “extremely difficult to understand how somebody can go through psychological abuse to the extent that they lose their critical thinking.”

“I was basically in total isolation… I had a complete breakdown. I tried to commit suicide five times,” she said.

After spending 12 years inside Joshua’s compound, Rae returned to England.

She had slipped away from the disciples while travelling with the church on a tour to Mexico, stating, “He made a huge mistake, he lost control of me.”

Rae stated that it was only after she left that she realised that her family and friends had been sending her emails. She had never received them.

“On the outside, I look normal, but I’m not. This story is like a horror story. It’s like something you watch in fiction, but it’s true,” Rae said while she recalled the tragic trauma and the impacts it’s had on her.

She expressed her disappointment that Joshua didn’t wait to face the consequences of the atrocities he had committed before his death.

“TB Joshua dying before facing justice for the atrocities he committed, has been deeply frustrating. It’s only added to the gross sense of injustice felt by all of us as his victims,” she noted.

BBC stated that it contacted SCOAN with the allegations in the investigation. They did not respond to them but denied previous claims against Joshua.

“Making unfounded allegations against Prophet TB Joshua is not a new occurrence… None of the allegations was ever substantiated,” the church stated.

The BBC stated that former followers have previously tried to speak out about abuse, but say they had been silenced or discredited by SCOAN, while two said they were physically assaulted.

When the BBC’s Africa Eye was filming outside the church, a security guard shot above the heads of the crew after they refused to hand over their material, the report noted.

A Nigerian, Bisola, who was also a ‘disciple,’ stated that she was raped multiple times by the late clergyman.

Bisola, who spent 14 years inside the compound, added that she was asked to recruit virgin girls into the disciple fold under threats of violence.

“TB Joshua asked me to recruit virgins for him… So that he could bring them into the disciple-fold and disvirgin them,” she revealed.

Bisola told the BBC that courting Westerners was a key tactic employed by Joshua

“He used the white people to market his brand,” she said.

The report stated that many of the young people who left their home countries to meet Joshua in the early 2000s didn’t pay for their tickets.

It added that Church groups across England raised funds to send pilgrims to Lagos to witness these miracles – and Joshua contributed Scoan money himself, senior former church insiders said.

Later, once the church was well established, Joshua charged high prices for pilgrims to come and stay.

A broadcast journalist in Namibia, Jessica Kaimu, narrated that she was raped by Joshua at the age of 17, in the bathroom of his penthouse, within weeks of her becoming a disciple.

She stated that Joshua wasn’t moved by her screams, saying, “I was screaming and he was whispering in my ear that I should stop acting like a baby… I was so traumatised, I couldn’t cry.”

Kaimu noted that she was raped for five years throughout her stay as a disciple.

A woman who craved anonymity stated that it happened to her twice before the age of 15.

“It was so painful, he violated me. Words cannot properly express it. It scarred me for life,” she said.

The report noted that there were accounts by four of Joshua’s male personal servants who were given the job of clearing up the physical evidence of this abuse.

“We’d never… seen anything like that before,” said a journalist who covers African religion, Solomon Ashoms, adding, “The mysteries that he had, the secrets that he carried, [were] what people followed.”

At a press conference held at the church’s headquarters on Tuesday, June 29,  the leadership of the church urged the members to disregard the rumour of succession plan of the church and focus on plans by the church to give the renowned cleric a befitting burial.

Speaking at the Conference “tagged ‘Celebrating The Life and Legacy of Prophet TB Joshua- Not Mine But God’s Own’, an international member of the church, Dr Gary Tonge, who spoke on behalf of the church said “Questions concerning succession, if there is anything to say on the subject it will be clearly, plainly and directly announced. Generally, on this and on other issues, there are many different stories that are going around in the media about succession. Until you hear an official announcement then it is best to disregard those things.’’

According to the statement, a week-long service of songs will be held from Monday, July 5 to July 11. The statement revealed that he will be buried at the premises of the Synagogue Church of All Nations Church in Lagos.

The clergyman died on June 5.

Read the statement below

”SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!

Good Morning and Win Today! Dear SCOAN and Emmanuel TV family all over the world, we appreciate your continued prayers, love and support.

We know you are aware that our father in the Lord, Prophet TB Joshua, has been taken home to be with the Lord. We want to assure you that nothing will stop the work of God at The SCOAN from moving on. Prophet TB Joshua may be absent in the body but he is present in the spirit (Colossians 2:5). Indeed, God is even more powerful at distance!

We are currently preparing for the week-long service from Monday 5th to Sunday 11th July 2021 in honour of Prophet TB Joshua’s life and legacy. He will be laid to rest at The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations (SCOAN) in Lagos, Nigeria.

All services will be broadcast live on Emmanuel TV. The services which will be open to the public will be communicated to you at the appropriate time.

As our father in the Lord, Prophet TB Joshua says, “When we close our eyes to all things in this world, we shall open them in a world of glory.”

Emmanuel – God is with us. Jesus is Lord!”

Joshua died last week in Lagos State at the age of 57.

A member of the family, who spoke on condition of anonymity on Sunday, said the date was fixed after the immediate and extended members of the family of TB Joshua met at the residence of the deceased in Lagos State on Friday.

The family decision is contrary to the expectation of the monarch of Arigidi Akoko, Oba Yisa Olanipekun, and some other traditional rulers in the Akoko area, who wanted the late pastor buried in his hometown, Arigidi Akoko.

The traditional rulers were of the opinion that if the late cleric was taken to his hometown for burial, it would further give the town global recognition as the deceased’s worshippers all over the world would want to visit it to see his tomb and would also make the church to continue the project already embarked upon by the late founder.

But the family member said the wife, Evelyn, and the children of the late cleric prevailed on the other family members over the burial place and date at the meeting.

The source said the burial arrangement would take place between July 5 and July 9, 2021

He said, “The extended family members, his (Joshua) wife and children held a meeting on Friday and it was decided that he should be buried in Lagos and the burial programme will be between July 5 and 9. It was on the insistence of the wife and the children that the other family members agree on the place of burial because they said they saw revelations that he should be buried in Lagos. Since they said it was spiritual, the family agreed with them.”

However, one of the community leaders in Akokoland, Chief Ladi Bello, said since the decision had been taken on the burial arrangement of the deceased, the ongoing project left behind in Arigidi Akoko by the late pastor should not be abandoned.

The cleric who gave the prophecy on July 27, 2014, said Nigeria would be covered by a cloud of “crisis, murder, killings, destruction”, but would not break up.

TB Joshua warned members of the political class of impending repercussions; even as he noted that they would be made to pay for their part in the crises.

He said during the church service “Nothing will happen to Nigeria. Nigeria will remain one.  Beyond this crisis, Nigeria is beautiful. Your prayer now is that you should witness it so that this crisis will not take you away. It is decreed that this nation will be reckoned with as a powerful nation. Huge trouble is coming and no human being will withstand it unless you don’t have hand in that trouble. There is a cloud that covers Nigeria… the cloud of crisis, murder, killings, destruction covers Nigeria. The cloud will go; Nigeria will remain. Power without peace is powerless. The manner you have that power will determine whether there will be peace in it. The power is in the heart. Not in the gun, not in the White house or Aso Rock. If you are living in the White House without power in the heart, it is like you are living in the bush.  I want to assure you: Nigeria – nothing will happen to Nigeria. Nigeria will remain one!”

Annoucing the suspension on Twitter account on Wednesday, TB Joshua said the channel was suspended over a video said to contain hate speech.

The Pastor called for a review of the suspension, adding that the decision to suspend his channel was done in a haste by Youtube.

His tweet read, “Emmanuel TV YouTube suspension: Our mission is to share the love of God with everyone irrespective of race or religion and we strongly oppose all forms of hate speech.

“We have had a long and fruitful relationship with YouTube and believe this decision was made in haste.”

TB Joshua urged followers on his verified Facebook page to raise awareness over his channel’s suspension on other social media platforms.

He also uploaded the video said to be the cause of the suspension.

In the video clip, the pastor speaking to a man possessed by a strange spirit and requested that he come out.

The pastor was heard in the video allegedly containing ‘hate speech’ saying, “God hates sin, not sinners.

“When the Bible says don’t judge so that you will not be judged’, it means we should hate sin, not the sinner because sinners can change. If you have killed a sinner by judging him, there will be no opportunity for change.

“Sinners can be delivered. We should hate the act, not the people because our battle is not against flesh and blood but against the ‘spirit beings’ that cause all these acts.”