By Ibe Pascal
A short video which has been trending on TikTok claimed that President Bola Tinubu condemned BBC documentary that exposed the atrocities of Prophet TB Joshua of the Synagogue Church Of All Nations (DCOAN).
TikTok is a short-form video hosting service.
In the thirty-one second video seen by CrimeFacts news on Wednesday night, a voice that sounds like president Bola Tinubu’s, in a live broadcast, berated BBC for the documentary on TB Joshua.
“I, the president of Nigeria, rejects every documentary and evidence made by BBC against our noble prophet, TB Joshua”.
“He was a good man, he brought many foreigners into Lagos when I was the governor. They hate him because he’s from a black country”.
The video as at Wednesday night has over 21k likes, 1.6k comments and 3.8k shares on TikTok.
Recall that on January 8, BBC released a documentary of where no fewer than 25 persons gave eyewitness accounts bordering on allegations of sexual assault, physical abuse, faked miracles and trauma -allegedly suffered in the hands of a late Nigerian pastor, Temitope Joshua, aka TB Joshua.
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 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.
FINDINGS
•Since after release of the documentary on TB Joshua by BBC, president Bola Tinubu has not been seen making any live broadcast about the documentary on any Nigeria TV station.
•Checks on the handle of president’s spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale on X (former Twitter) showed there has been no press statement nor any video where the president Bola Tinubu condemned the BBC documentary on TB Joshua.
VERDICT
The video which has now gone viral on TikTok with over 3k shares is fake and misleading.
