How disgraced preacher TB Joshua fake im miracles

Di BBC don expose for di first time, how di late Nigerian televangelist TB Joshua dey fake di miracles wey draw millions of pipo to im church.

Di preacher, wey dey accused of widespread abuse and torture wey don reach almost 20 years, start im Synagogue Church of All Nations (Scoan) for Lagos more dan 30 years ago.

Im sudden rise to fame dey closely tied to im self-professed divine powers and im supposed ability to heal di sick.

Dem feem di staged healings – wey show as physically disabled pesin dey waka and on one occasion e claim to resurrect dead pesin. Plus testimonies of pipo wey claim say e heal dem, dem send everything VHS tapes to churches across di world.

For 2004, Nigeria broadcast regulator ban stations say make dem stop to dey air supposed miracles of pastors on live terrestrial TV. Dis one make Joshua launch Emmanuel TV on satellite and then online.

Im global television and social media empire become one of di most successful Christian networks for di world.

E broadcast im purported miracles to millions across Europe, di Americas, South-East Asia and Africa. Im YouTube channel get hundreds of millions of views.

But Joshua, wey die for 2021 at di age of 57 na fraud.

Di BBC investigation, wey involve more dan 25 church insiders from UK, Nigeria, Ghana, di US, South Africa and Germany, expose six ways wey e take trick im worshippers.

1: Di emergency department

E get one exclusive section of di church, wey dem name di "emergency department", dis department dey responsible for making di so-called miracles look real.

Dis na wia dem dey screen sick pipo wey come for healing, and dis na wia di team go decide who dem go feem and who Joshua go pray for.

Agomoh Paul, wey supervise di department for 10 years – wey dey receive direct instructions from Joshua, tell BBC say na "trained by medical doctors" train di team.

E be former disciple - one of an elite group of dedicated followers wey live wit di pastor for inside di Scoan compound.

"Any cancerous situation, dem go send dem away. Then pipo wey get normal open wounds wey fit heal, dem go bring dem in, to present as cancer," e tok.

Na only a select group of trusted disciples dey allowed to work for di emergency department. Dem go write placards for each follower to hold, wit details of dia made-up or exaggerated sickness. Wen time reach to meet Joshua, dem go stand for line for front of di cameras and be "healed".

"Na complicated system. No be all disciples sabi wetin dey happun. Na secret," Oga Paul tok.

2: Drugs

Every foreign visitor wey come di church for healing gatz fill out a medical report, detailing dia illness and di medication dem currently dey use.

Dem go tell dem to stop dey take di medications, but Joshua go order pharmacists to procure di same medicine.

Without dia knowledge dem go "put those drugs inside dia fruit drinks," Oga Paul explain, e say dem go encourage pipo to drink di cocktail wey Joshua don bless. Joshua.

Dis one mean say while visitors dey stay for Scoan dem no go fall sick and go believe in fi divine healing powers of dia pastor.

For di 1990s wen HIV/Aids bin reach epidemic levels across parts of sub-Saharan Africa, Joshua bin tell visitors to stop to dey take dia antiretroviral medication wen dem reach house.

"I know pipo die because dem no take dia medicine, and e dey difficult to live with dat," one former disciple, wey no want make BBC mention im name, tok.

Tash Ford, wey be 49-year-old now, bin go Lagos from di South African city of Johannesburg for 2001 wit di hope say her failing kidney go dey healed, dem tell her to stop to dey take her drugs.

"Na di promise say… you fit supernaturally receive a new kidney," she tell di BBC.

At di time she bin don already get two kidney transplants. Ms Ford tok say di disciples tell her: "Stop dey take your medication and just believe."

She believe say she don dey healed. But wen she reach home, afta four weeks wey she no take her medicine, she bin enta into renal failure and dem admit her for hospital.

Di doctors initially bin manage to save her kidney but eventually e stop to dey work and she gatz get kidney dialysis for more dan six years before she get di third transplant for 2011.

3: Brainwashing

Ms Ford tok say wen she bin dey Scoan she no ever get any doubts: "I honestly believe say we dey see miracles. I literally no fit believe wetin I dey see. I see pesin wey waka comot from wheelchair."

E be like say di theatricality draw everyone in.

Di former disciple tell BBC say afta dem don screen pipo wey come for healing, dem go tell di chosen followers to "exaggerate dia problems so dat God go fit heal you and exaggerate your healing".

"E dey clear say, dem dey manipulate di pipo,” she tok.

Di church get ready supply of wheelchairs wey dem dey cajole followers to use. Dem warn dem say dem no go receive healing if dem no sit on di wheelchair wen dem meet Joshua.

"We dey tell dem: 'If you come out there, and walk wit your legs, Papa no go pray for you. You need to shout: "Man of God, help me, I no fit walk,"'" Oga Paul tok.

Another former disciple, Bisola, wey spend 14 years living for Scoan, escort Joshua on im National Healing Campaign for di Church of Our Saviour for Singapore for 2006.

She say she see pipo for wheelchairs wey try to stand up afta di pastor tell di congregation say "e don release faith into di stadium".

However, dem neva screen these pipo and I see as dem dey fall down. "I cry. I cry for dem," she tok.

Di emergency department workers themselves also bin dey manipulated. Dem subject dem to horrifying ordeals, including rape, physical violence and torture, and dem live by a strict set of rules – dem dey forbidden to sleep for more dan a few hours at a time.

Now dem dey struggle to understand how and why dem continue to follow di pastor orders.

"TB Joshua tell me: 'No worry, we dey use dis thing to build pipo faith in Christ.' I bin no get am for mind say I actually dey do something wrong. I bin think say I dey do something wey go help build di faith of pipo for di church," Oga Paul tok.

For Ms Ford, e mean say she don lost all faith for organised religion: "I wish say we bin know say all na fake, say no be true. Dem manipulate me into believing say wetin di prophet dey do na supernatural, miracles, wonders, signs."

4: Bribes

Some disciples allege say dia work na to find pipo wey need money to pretend say dem dey sick.

Wen dem perform healing crusades for kontris outside Nigeria, dem dey go poorer areas of a city to find pipo wey dey live in poverty.

"We go say: 'We need you to just act out dis particular scene and we go pay you,'" another former disciple tell di BBC.

"We go put dem for hotels, we go clean dem up. Dem go come, dem go do wetin we say make dem do. We give dem dia money and di rest na history," she tok.

Before di service, dem go tell Joshua which rows dem plan these people, and which clothes dem dey wear, so e go know who to perform im supposed miracles on.

"Dem go bring pipo in just to pretend say dem dey healed," she tok.

5: Fake medical certificates

Di "healing miracles" broadcast to millions regularly dey include medical reports wey state say pipo don dey cured of HIV/Aids and diseases like cancer.

Dem interview doctors on camera wey confam di cures.

For 2000, Nigerian journalist Adejuwon Soyinka bin report say these medical certificates na fake, but Joshua suppress im investigation and e no go anywhere.

To dis day some pipo believe say dem dey healed, but insiders say all na performance on di late preacher part.

"Di whole thing na stage-managed and faked. na faked," Oga Paul tok, e describe Joshua as "evil genius".

Nothing happun for dat compound wey Joshua no know about, e explain.

"TB Joshua na di one wey mastermind di whole manipulation," e tok.

6: Video manipulation

Dem feem di "miracles" come edit am to make am look like di supposed healing don happun instantaneously. Dem go join before and afta footage together to show im purported miraculous powers, but in reality, dem bin shoot di feems months, or even a year, apart.

"All you see on TV na di before and afta, you no know di time space," Bisola tok, she be Scoan chief video editor for five years and she bin on Emmanuel TV. Like oda insiders wey di BBC interview, she choose to only use her first name.

"Wetin pipo see… no dey real. Na fraud," she tok about di clips and broadcasts she oversew.

"I dey tok now as pesin wey be insider," she tok.

Anything dem no want make viewers see dem go "cut am away". All dey "organised", she tok.

Di BBC bin contact Scoan wit di allegations for dis investigation. But dem no respond to dem, but deny previous claims against Joshua.

"Making unfounded allegations against Prophet TB Joshua no dey new occurrence… None of di allegations don ever dey prove," dem tok.

This Africa Eye investigation was conducted by Charlie Northcott, Helen Spooner, Maggie Andresen, Yemisi Adegoke and Ines Ward.