Headline

How TB Joshua Made Childless Couples To Exchange Spouses – Ex-worker Reveals

Published

2 years ago

January 12, 2024

Following a controversial documentary by the BBC on the founder of the Synagogue Church of All Nations, Pastor Temitope Joshua, a pastor in the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Debo Akinyemi, in a write-up published by ChurchTimes Nigeria, shares his experiences when he worked for the late pastor.

Having related closely, though for a short time, with TB Joshua as a journalist, I feel a compelling need to weigh in on the controversy trailing the recent expose released on him by BBC.

The argument in favour and against the BBC documentary shows that opinion is divided as to whether he was a genuine man of God or not.

Let me submit that from my personal view he was neither here nor there. It was difficult to place him because of his almost perfect outward posturing and inner suspicious conduct. Those who judged TB by his looks and humility fail to draw from the biblical saying that outward appearance could be deceptive.

I first set my eyes on him in the late 90s when he was still an itinerant white garment prophet. He used to visit Today’s Choice, the soft-sell magazine where I worked as the Sports Editor.

His points men then were our editor Osa Irabor and News Editor, Jide Oshokoya. The purpose of his frequent visits then was to curry publicity for the small things he was doing then as an upcoming church owner.

But later our paths crossed again. And this time he had become a big brand, even if controversial. One of my friends had informed me of a vacancy in The Exclusive, a quaint weekly Newspaper he was publishing. Initially, I didn’t know TB Joshua had anything to do with the paper because his name never appeared in the list of management and board members.

But when I discovered that he not only owned the paper but also had almost a choke hold on the management of the paper, I became scared and wanted to turn down the appointment given to me as the deputy editor of the paper.

I had to go and seek counsel from my provincial pastor who encouraged me to take up the appointment and do my job with as much professional detachment as possible. It did not take long after joining the paper when I began to notice very disturbing developments.

He was nocturnal

First and foremost, I noticed TB Joshua was a man of the night. He would summon us the senior editorial staff to his church for meetings fixed for 5 or 6 pm but would never show up until 12 or 1 am the following morning. And when he eventually showed up the matter for which he called us could be very mundane. And the meeting itself hardly lasted longer than 10 minutes.

But while keeping us waiting he would feed the team to bursting with sumptuous meals, many times, jollof or fried rice heaped to the skies with huge chunks of chicken.

Being a spiritually sensitive person I never tasted the food, though it was always highly attractive. I was always remembering Daniel and the King’s portion in the bible. My colleagues who could have much more than normal usually would eat my portion.

The next thing would be a directive from the prophet for us to go and pass the night in places prepared for us on the premises of the church. Again I avoided joining others to sleep there. I found it funny that our publisher would deliberately invite us for a meeting and ensure we were not able to go back to our houses.

So I would insist on going home. In fairness to him, he never stopped me or any other member of the team from leaving. He once directed the driver of his security backup vehicle to drop me in front of my house in Ota, Ogun State by 3 am. So those who stayed back chose to do so out of their own volition or probably in excessive deference to the man.

Generous with funds

But one thing I could not avoid was the bulky envelope filled with money that he always handed out to us at each meeting.

You could open your envelope and find as much as 25,000. Just as you could be summoned to another meeting the following day or each day the rest of the week after which the envelope would go round. It never mattered if you had not touched the handout of the previous meetings where nothing of importance was discussed.

Sometimes he would just say the meeting was to commend some of us for the stories we wrote. This seemed to make him the toast of the team except me. This generosity seemed more subversive than anything else. What publisher would call meetings to disrupt editorial schedules just to share envelopes?

Disciples lived regulated lives

The frequent visit to the place on his invitation made it possible for me to observe some of the inner workings of TB’s church. He kept a large flock of special workers labeled disciples, many of whom were gorgeous, ravishing young ladies.

He forbade the disciples from any form of secular job, though many of them had second or even third degrees. They were not permitted to own any savings or carry money on them anytime. But their needs were adequately met.

They only needed to make requisitions for whatever material needed like clothes, shoes, and bags, and seek TB’s approval. The materials would be supplied promptly. Of course, they fed free of charge and lived in the hostels built by the church.

But they lived a highly regulated life that made them appear like soulless robots. They lived more in fear of the prophet than God. They also seemed to have taken an oath of secrecy.

So they spoke, saw, and heard no evil about the church system. They were not permitted to step out of the gate of the church without a pass signed by the prophet. Yet the disciples looked happy, except that they were separated from their beloved ones.

They dared not step outside the stricture set by Joshua. The consequence was always grave. They could disappear without a trace or get ejected into a difficult life of dreariness outside. Those so rejected would find it difficult to survive and soon begin to beg to be taken back.

I once met one of such evictees who was once a top-flight disciple with ostentatious dress sense. After a few months of his eviction, he was just a shade away from madness. He was looking gaunt, wearing dirty tatters, and unable to speak coherently.

Issues with married people

Another strange thing about the church was the way he made married couples swap partners among themselves. He made this happen as a ritual to enable childless couples to have children. Strangely, many couples who could not have children would start having children with new partners with whom they had just been matched. In other words, formerly married husbands and wives saw their former partners coming to the church in the arms of new spouses.

TB was even bold enough to propose the swap to my colleague, Joe then a senior editorial staff of Guardian Newspaper. Joe and his wife were then seeking the face of God. And when they went to see the prophet he told them the only way out was to break up and find new separate partners from among the congregation.

Though TB looked meek he was known for his demonic anger which the insiders witnessed almost daily. I was then told by one of the so-called disciples helping him to manage the newspaper, how he threw up a large glass-topped table in his office in a fit of strange anger.

I did not stay for more than 3 months before TB folded the paper. So I did not stay long to see more of the disturbing things happening in the church. But the little I saw furnished rooms for reasonable suspicion. While I won’t vilify him in death, I won’t be so gullible as to join the team of his praise singers.

The Bible says we should not believe all spirits. But we must put them to the test to see if they are of the Lord. I put TB’s spirit to the test and there appeared to be too much fog around him, making me suspect him, though his persona was likable somewhat.

Source: ChurchTimes

Headline

Trump Orders Tougher Visa Screening Regime

Published

4 days ago

November 10, 2025

Editor

The Donald Trump administration has reinstated a sweeping global visa policy that can make it harder for many foreign nationals—including Nigerians—to obtain U.S. visas, as Washington revives its controversial “public charge” rule targeting those deemed likely to depend on public benefits.

A newly issued State Department cable, obtained by Fox News Digital, directed American embassies and consulates worldwide to enforce the policy immediately. The directive, which officials say restores a Trump-era standard relaxed under President Joe Biden, instructs U.S. consular officers to deny visas to anyone considered likely to rely on government assistance in the United States of America.

Under the rule, visa applicants will be assessed on a wide range of personal factors—including their health, age, English proficiency, financial stability, and potential need for long-term medical care.

Consular officers are urged to take a holistic approach, considering everything from the applicant’s visa petition and financial affidavit to their medical report and any other information uncovered during background checks.

“You must examine all aspects of the case,” the guidance reads, “including the petition, visa application, medical report, affidavit of support, and any information uncovered in the course of screening and vetting.”

Older applicants, particularly those nearing retirement age, are expected to face extra scrutiny. The cable notes that “long-term institutionalisation (e.g., at a nursing facility) can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars per year and should be considered,” suggesting that age and health will play major roles in visa decisions.

The revived rule follows an executive order signed by President Donald Trump titled “Ending Taxpayer Subsidisation of Open Borders”. The order, according to the State Department memo, aims to ensure “that no taxpayer-funded benefits go to unqualified aliens.”

The cable further stresses that the public charge determination rests solely on the judgment of each consular officer, who must conduct a “comprehensive and thorough vetting” before issuing any visa. “There is no ‘bright line’ test,” the cable adds. “You must consider all aspects of the case and determine whether the applicant’s circumstances… suggest that he is more likely than not to become a public charge at any time.”

A State Department official told Fox News Digital, “For years, the American taxpayer was held hostage by the Biden administration’s disastrous open borders agenda… The Trump administration has brought an end to the era of mass immigration.”

The U.S. State Department controls visa issuance at embassies abroad, while the Department of Homeland Security manages who is ultimately admitted into the country or allowed to adjust status once inside the U.S. Though both agencies operate under the same immigration laws, the new guidance grants wide latitude to consular officers overseas to reject applicants on “public charge” grounds.

Before now, the Biden administration’s 2022 version of the rule had limited the benefits considered under the policy — counting only direct cash assistance and long-term institutional care, while excluding popular social support programmes such as food stamps (SNAP), Medicaid, housing vouchers, and the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) programme.

The Trump administration had expanded that definition in 2019 to include a broader range of public benefits, though several U.S. courts later blocked parts of the policy before it was scrapped by President Biden in 2021.

This week’s cable now marks a full return to that broader interpretation, instructing American consular officials to “conduct a comprehensive and thorough vetting” and to verify all supporting financial documents presented by applicants.

For many Nigerians seeking U.S. visas — from students and workers to elderly immigrants joining family abroad — the revived rule could mean more rejections and lengthier processing times.

Headline

Mexican President Pledges Tougher Sexual‑harassment Laws After Being Groped

Published

1 week ago

November 6, 2025

Editor

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Thursday unveiled proposals to boost reporting and prosecution of sexual abuse after she herself was groped in the street in an attack that caused outrage.

Mexico’s first woman president, 63, was assaulted on Tuesday by a drunken man while walking through the streets of the capital.

The assault made global headlines and focused attention on the dangers and harassment suffered by many women in the Latin American country.

Sheinbaum has pressed charges against her attacker for sexual harassment, a charge that in Mexico City covers lewd behaviour and groping.

She has also ordered a review of the widely diverging laws on sexual harassment and abuse across Mexico’s 32 states.

Sexual harassment in public spaces is so prevalent in Mexico that in the last decade, the authorities have created women-only spaces on the metro.

Other cities with similar arrangements include Mumbai and Rio.

“May what happened serve so that women do not feel alone in situations of harassment or abuse… and for this to happen, there must be institutions and a government that supports them,” Sheinbaum told her regular morning press conference.

The UN says around 70 per cent of Mexican girls and women aged 15 and over will experience at least one incident of sexual harassment in their lives.

Sheinbaum said that 45 per cent had experienced sexual “abuse.”

The man who assaulted her put one arm around her shoulder while she was greeting supporters, and with his other hand touched her hip and chest while attempting to kiss her neck.

A member of Sheinbaum’s security detail pulled him away.

Citlalli Hernandez, Secretary for Women, said more than 25,000 complaints of sexual harassment have been filed so far this year.

Headline

US Lawmakers Urge Sanctions On Miyetti Allah, Others Over Alleged Religious Violations

Published

1 week ago

November 6, 2025

Editor

The United States House of Representatives has urged the Departments of State and Treasury to impose targeted sanctions on individuals and organisations, including Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria and Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, over alleged violations of religious freedom in Nigeria.

This was contained in a resolution introduced before the House on Tuesday and cited by The PUNCH from the US Congress website on Wednesday.

Recall that Trump, in a post on Truth over the weekend, declared Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern” and threatened to take military action if the country did not stem the alleged killings of Christians.

Filed as H. Res. 860 in the 119th Congress, the resolution, submitted by Rep. Christopher Smith with Rep. Paul Huizenga as a co-sponsor, commends President Donald Trump for redesignating Nigeria as a CPC.

The sponsors decried the alleged worsening persecution of Christians and other religious minorities.

They cited a catalogue of findings and reports that informed the measure, including media accounts and NGO data alleging large-scale attacks on civilians, destruction of places of worship, and a pattern of impunity.

The resolution reads in parts, “For over a decade, Islamic terror organisations have carried out mass murder, rape, kidnappings, and other atrocities targeting mostly Nigerian Christians and non-Fulani moderate Muslim populations, resulting in mass displacement and destruction of places of worship

“Prominent Christian and Muslim leaders have been kidnapped or assassinated, including priests, pastors, and imams who advocate for religious tolerance;

“Religious leaders, such as Father Remigius Iyhula and Bishop Wilfred Anagbe, who testified on March 12, 2025, at a hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee about the persecution and targeted killings of Christians in the Diocese of Makurdi, have faced intimidation, threats, and harassment from both extremist groups and government authorities.”

Supporters of the measure argued that the CPC redesignation would strengthen diplomatic leverage to press Nigeria for accountability and protection of religious minorities.

“The designation of Nigeria as a CPC will enhance diplomatic efforts to encourage the Nigerian government to take necessary actions to protect religious minorities and uphold fundamental human rights,” they said.

They therefore moved that “President Donald Trump acted appropriately and decisively to redesignate Nigeria as a CPC and hold the Nigerian government accountable for its complicity in religious persecution by radical Islamists, such as Boko Haram and Fulani terrorists.”

They further recommended conditioning US foreign assistance on demonstrable steps by Nigeria to prevent persecution, prosecute alleged perpetrators, and care for displaced populations.

“The State Department should provide immediate humanitarian assistance directly to faith-based groups to support internally displaced people in Nigeria’s middle belt states.

“The United States, through the Department of State and Department of Treasury, should impose targeted sanctions, including visa bans and asset freezes under the Global Magnitsky framework and other restrictive measures, on individuals and entities responsible for severe violations of religious freedom in Nigeria, including sanctions against Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) and Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, and should place Fulani-Ethnic Militias operating in Benue and Plateau States on the Entities of Particular Concern List under the International Religious Freedom Act,” the resolution read.

The resolution also asked the US to justify the purposes and amounts of recent security and development assistance to Nigeria and to tie future support to improved human-rights outcomes.

The resolution was referred to the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Judiciary Committee for further consideration.

If it advances out of committee, the resolution would mark a clear congressional signal backing Trump’s CPC decision and could open the door to further legislative or executive actions.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government had said the United States’ designation of Nigeria as a “country of particular concern” over alleged violations of religious freedom is based on a wrong perception of the country’s security challenges.

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, stated this on Wednesday in Abuja while addressing journalists.

Idris said the US position stemmed from “misrepresentation and misinformation” about Nigeria’s internal security situation.

According to him, terrorism and violent crimes in Nigeria do not target any particular religious group.

“Nigeria faces long-standing security challenges that have impacted Christians and Muslims alike.

“Any narrative suggesting that the Nigerian state is failing to take action against religious attacks is based on misinformation or faulty data,” Idris said.