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| Smoke tortured for standing up to her father, TB Joshua |
The BBC has revealed the abuse and torture of late megachurch leader TB Joshua, who is accused of committing mass sexual crimes. Ajoke, one of the pastor's daughters, was locked up and tortured for years before leaving her homeless on the streets of Lagos, Nigeria. Ajoke, now 27, lives in hiding and has dropped her surname "Joshua."
Ajoke's birth mother, Evelyn, was believed to be one of TB Joshua's congregants. She had a happy childhood until she was suspended from school for a misdemeanor and was referred to as the illegitimate child of TB Joshua. She was taken to the Scoan compound in Lagos and was made to join the disciples' room. The disciples were an elite group of dedicated followers who served TB Joshua and lived with him inside the maze-like structure of the church. They lived under strict rules: forbidden to sleep for more than a few hours at a time, prohibited from using their phones or having access to their personal emails, and forced to call TB Joshua "Daddy."
Ajoke refused to follow the rules like the other disciples and rebelled against the severe sleeping orders. The abuse started soon after arriving, with Ajoke being beaten for wetting the bed and forced to walk around the compound with a sign around her neck saying, "I am a bedwetter." The message about Ajoke was that she had terrible evil spirits that needed to be driven out.
Ajoke, a former disciple of Prophet TB Joshua, was treated like an outcast when she moved to the church in the Ikotun neighbourhood of Lagos. She was labeled the black sheep of the family and faced constant abuse from her father, who claimed to stand for the teachings of the church. The abuse escalated when Ajoke confronted her father about accounts of sexual abuse, leading to a series of incidents where she was repeatedly hit with belts and chains.
The BBC interviewed over 25 former disciples from various countries, including the UK, Nigeria, the US, South Africa, Ghana, Namibia, and Germany, who gave powerful testimonies of experiencing or witnessing sexual abuse. Ajoke was dragged out of his office and put in a room away from the rest of the church members, where she lived in social confinement for more than a year. This form of punishment within Scoan is known as "adaba," which Ajoke experienced for two years.
Ajoke found herself homeless at 19 and had no one to reach out to. She eventually contacted the BBC in 2019 after watching a BBC Africa Eye exposé. Still, it wasn't until others corroborated her story that a long BBC investigation began into uncovering the abuse at Scoan. The BBC contacted Scoan with the allegations in this investigation but denied previous claims against TB Joshua.
With the help of former disciples and some close friends, Ajoke recently managed to get off the streets, but it has led to episodes where she has struggled with her mental health. However, after her father died, the BBC has since contacted the church to investigate the allegations and provide support.
In conclusion, Ajoke's experiences with the church and the abuse she experienced have left a lasting impact on her life. The BBC has been working to address these issues and provide support to those affected by the church's practices.
This article is republished from BBC. The investigation was conducted by Charlie Northcott, Helen Spooner, Maggie Andresen, Yemisi Adegoke, and Ines Ward. Click here to read the original article.
