In a recently obtained video by SaharaReporters, the late televangelist and founder of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), Temitope Balogun Joshua, commonly known as TB Joshua, disclosed that he was not the biological father of Ajoke, the individual who accused him of abuse in a BBC investigative documentary.
Ajoke, whose full name is Ajoke God’swill Joshua, made severe allegations against TB Joshua in a three-part BBC documentary, claiming constant abuse and torture.
In response, TB Joshua clarified in the video that he adopted Ajoke in 2000 when she was abandoned as a baby. He reported the incident to a Lagos police station and received approval to adopt her.
TB Joshua explained that over time, Ajoke’s behavior became problematic, involving herself in fraudulent activities, theft, and causing disruptions among the church disciples.
In the video, TB Joshua addressed the church workers, introducing Ajoke and requesting prayers for her, acknowledging the challenges he faced in dealing with her actions.
He said, “It is such a surprise thing, she has what we call influence on the people, and she doesn’t influence little people. She influences big people, people that matter to the extent that two months ago, I had to call the commissioner of police to trace her file and they brought her file to me and there was a letter in the file demanding that I should return her and I held on to the letter.
“They too felt for me that I have given so much for her and that they should put her where she belongs. In a British school, there is a letter from the school which showed that this girl stole money. She agreed in the letter that she did it.”
A letter written to Prophet TB Joshua by a school in Togo, Benin Republic dated November 25, 2008, and signed by Gareth Jones on behalf of the academic team read, “We wish to bring to your notice formally this incident of theft perpetuated by Ajoke God’swill Joshua here in school.
“The school management has dealt with it by giving her a suspension and consequently her being put in isolation. It is a three school days suspension and she is allowed no visitors except her House Parent or Form Tutor who gives her some class work to do.
“We wish to assure you of our desire to keep her in school and to help her in various ways to reform and change for the better. We are of the opinion that taking her out of the school to another place could rather compound the situation and allow this habit to go on, but being in one place, getting the needed help from counselors, spiritual and temporal would to a great extent bring about the needed result.
“We acknowledge the fear you have of your name being tarnished but this we assure you once again it has been contained and would not be allowed to spill over. We have spoken to your delegation and given them a copy of the letter of plea as well as the statement of acceptance of wrong doing written by her which clearly indicates her being sorrowful for the situation she has created and remorse for it.
“We will continue to support in any way possible and be grateful for vice versa.”
One of the letters in which Ajoke admitted to the crime which was read by one of the church workers read, “I Ajoke Joshua is hereby admitting that I stole a sum of 41,000 CFA from (name of the school was hidden).
“This was a very criminal act and also something that should have not been done at all in the first place. I was so tempted by the money and I do not have any idea of whatsoever prompted me to do this. I am so sorry and I promise that in my whole entire life that this will not happen again. Please do not suspend me. I am sincerely sorry.”
TB Joshua said that after the school wrote the letter to him. According to him, “to them because nobody ever knew that she is not my biological child, we then showed them the letter of the day we found her when she was a baby. I took her to the police station and they told me to take care of her, and I felt, let her live with us.”
The cleric said the video of how Ajoke was found and picked up when she was a baby was recorded.
TB Joshua’s wife who went to the Togolese school with Ajoke to show the documents of her adoption said that the teachers in the school were surprised after the video was played to them.
TB Joshua lamented that “Ajoke has been a terrible thing that the police said they want to take her back to the orphanage home and they had taken her name and photocopies of the documents but I said no.”
A letter from the Ikotun Police Station, Lagos requesting the release of Ajoke who was adopted in March 2000, back to the police was read before the workers in the church.
TB Joshua said that if not that he had Ajoke, he would have had thousands of adopted children “but I warn you, they are very dangerous. They will never be grateful to whatever you do.”
He said that Ajoke “is now destroying the disciples here,” citing an example of one of the disciples who called him from Ghana and said that he had to go because Ajoke had destroyed him.
According to the disciple, “he cannot say no to Ajoke.” A document was also read on how Ajoke sent a message to the disciple saying she wanted to marry him and have a sexual affair with the disciple and that no matter what TB Joshua said, she was ready to die because of the disciple.
According to TB Joshua, this made the disciple to leave the church and go back to Ghana.