BBC: In one of the largest evangelical churches in the world, people were tortured and raped for 20 years

The British media BBC found evidence of mass torture by the founder of one of the worldʼs largest Christian evangelical churches called the Synagogue of the Church of All Nations. TB Joshua is accused of rape and forced abortions.

TB Joshua died in 2021, and before that he was a charismatic and successful preacher, including a televangelist, with a large following in the world. He was recognized as one of the most influential pastors in African history.

The BBC conducted an investigation for two years, collected evidence over a period of 20 years, and came to the following conclusions:

• There are dozens of eyewitness accounts of physical violence or torture that Joshua used. Among them is the cruel treatment of children and adults who were whipped and chained.
• Many women have claimed to have been sexually assaulted by Joshua, with many saying they were repeatedly raped over the years at the Lagos compound.
• There have been several allegations of forced abortions at the church following alleged rapes by Joshua, with one woman saying she had five abortions.
• There are numerous first-hand accounts of how Joshua faked his "miraculous healings" that were televised to millions of people around the world.

One of the victims is a woman from Britain named Rae. At the age of 21, she left Brighton University in 2002 and joined the church. For the next 12 years, she was Joshuaʼs "disciple" in his concrete compound in Lagos.

"We all thought we were in heaven, but we were in hell, and terrible things happen in hell," she noted.

According to her, she was raped several times by Joshua, she was in solitary confinement for two years. During this time, she tried to commit suicide several times.

The Church of All Nations Synagogue has a global following and operates Emmanuel TV, a Christian television channel and social media pages with millions of viewers and followers. During the 1990s and early 2000s, tens of thousands of pilgrims from Europe, America, Southeast Asia and Africa traveled to church in Nigeria. Many of the victims were teenagers when they first joined the church and began living in the compound with Joshua as his followers.

Four Britons who spoke to the BBC said they reported the abuse to British authorities after fleeing the church. And they added that the British authorities did not react to it. A British man and his wife emailed the British High Commission in Nigeria with eyewitness accounts of the torture they experienced and video evidence, including footage of them being held at gunpoint by men who claimed to be police (they were also members of the church). The British man wrote in the letter that Joshua repeatedly raped his wife. That man said no action followed.

A BBC camera crew attempted to record a video of a view of a church compound in Lagos from a public street, but were fired upon by church security and later detained.

The Church of All Nations Synagogue is currently under the leadership of Joshuaʼs widow Evelyn.