Tag Archives: SCOAN

REPOST: Questions SCOAN must answer about the attack on their building

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Today is the day the trial against SCOAN and the engineers begins. Already it has been established beyond doubt that the building collapsed due to structural deficiencies (if you still question that, please first read the coroner’s report then come back to us), but SCOAN are still sticking to their “strange hovering aircraft/controlled demolition/terrorist attack” theories. Below is a repost of an article we wrote a few months ago explaining why these theories are completely inadequate to explain what actually happened on September 12th 2014. Let’s pray these deceptive stories get put to bed for good during this trial and the bereaved families get the truth and justice they deserve. If you lost family members in the disaster, you should know about the civil case against SCOAN. If you are interested in participating, please email tbjoshuawatch@hotmail.co.uk.

Regardless of your position on TB Joshua and SCOAN, you probably agree with us that the families who lost loved ones in the building collapse deserve the truth about what happened. The coroner has ruled that the building collapsed due to inadequate foundations, SCOAN strongly dispute this and have offered up evidence they believe points to sabotage, or some kind of terrorist attack – some serious claims! They have offered three lines of evidence (primarily though social media):

  1. Footage of a plane “hovering”, almost an hour before the building came down.
  2. CCTV footage that appeared to show the building come down symmetrically “like a controlled explosion”.
  3. The testimony of “experts” claiming that the foundations and supporting columns were sound.

Although it seems to only be SCOAN supporters who take these theories seriously, SCOAN has a lot of supporters, and they’re rather vocal. In this article we look at the three lines of evidence and ask some probing questions that we believe SCOAN should answer if it expects the general public to take them seriously.

Questions about the plane

Proof that it was 50 minutes between the last flyover of an aircraft and the building collapse

Proof that it was 50 minutes between the last flyover of an aircraft and the building collapse

The plane is the weakest piece of evidence. SCOAN seem to be suggesting that a plane seen on their CCTV system could have caused the collapse through some unspecified chemical or sonic attack. Here are some questions we would like to hear answers to:

  1. How did a sonic or chemical attack from an aircraft only demolish one building and leave the adjacent ones intact? Surely any technology if this nature wouldn’t be this directional when deployed from the air?
  2. If the building was attacked from the air, how does that explain it appearing to come down symmetrically?
  3. If it was chemical, what chemical was used? What traces were found of it on the site? How could the chemical be potent enough to destroy a building, but without causing any loss of life outside of the building?
  4. What does the airplane have to do with controlled demolition? These appear to be mutually exclusive theories.

Unless SCOAN can answer some of these questions and give some more details to explain why the appearance of a plane an hour before the collapse had anything to do with it, we think it is a complete red herring that can be rejected out of hand. So we will put aside this line of evidence and move on to the next.

Questions about the controlled demolition

Some examples of genuine building implosions.

Some examples of genuine building implosions.

By “controlled demolition”, what SCOAN are referring to is known as a “building implosion”, you can read more about this highly complex and technical demolition technique here. Normally a building implosion requires perfectly timed charges to be detonated in strategic locations across multiple floors. At the very least, to execute this kind of plan successfully, the perpetrators would need to have structural knowledge of the building to know where the key load bearing columns were. Then they would need access to the building to drill into these columns and plant the charges. If SCOAN want this line of evidence to be taken seriously, here are some questions they need to answer:

  1. How did terrorists gain access to structural data on the building in order to plan a controlled demolition?
  2. How did they get large quantities of explosives and other paraphernalia onto the site without being stopped by the armed security guards or caught on CCTV?
  3. How did they manage to drill into multiple points on the building to rig the explosives without being noticed or caught on CCTV?
  4. If the collapse was caused by explosives, why were there no reports of loud bangs? Why were all the injuries consistent with crushing, not burns and explosions?
  5. Were any traces of explosives or associated paraphernalia found on the site? Please give details.
  6. Who do you think was responsible for the attack? Why has nobody claimed responsibility? Why would a terror group go to the bother of executing a highly sophisticated attack, but neglect to claim responsibility?
  7. If you really do believe that your site was compromised to the extent that terrorists were able to prepare and execute this controlled demolition, what measures have you taken to ensure it won’t happen again? Have you had bomb disposal experts check the whole site? Why were you allowing large public gatherings to take place just days later? Either this was highly irresponsible, or you don’t believe your own stories.

Ironically, if we are to take the controlled demolition theory seriously (which we don’t) it actually ends up implicating SCOAN far more than the structural failure option. Executing a plan like this would have required such high level access for lengthy periods of time, doing indiscreet things like drilling into columns and laying wires that it is inconceivable that the building could have been demolished this way without it being an inside job. If SCOAN want this line of evidence to be pursued, they should be ready for all SCOAN staff and contractors to be treated as suspects. Structural failure would be criminal negligence, controlled demolition would be mass murder.

Questions about the “expert” testimony

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbWOmSECc-I

The “expert” testimony SCOAN have presented is a 13 minute video with 4 supposed “experts” standing over a small, exposed section of foundation. Not only is this video a completely inadequate way to address a hugely complex topic, the experts they have chosen are neither experts nor impartial. For example, the most lengthy “expert” testimony was Dr Stephen Asheri Ntoga, resplendent in an Emmanuel TV t-shirt (there goes any hope of impartiality). He claims to be the “Dean of the Faculty of Engineering in Tanzania”, but no University is mentioned! This title is completely meaningless if it’s not attached to a University. Furthermore, this Doctor has absolutely no online presence apart from this video, or references to the video. No published articles or papers, no news articles, no LinkedIn profile, no faculty staff page, nothing! The three other “experts” fair no better, none have any expertise that can be verified. Here are some questions SCOAN should answer:

  1. Why did the video only concentrate on a very small exposed part of the foundation? How do we know you weren’t just showing the part that was intact?
  2. If you are convinced that your structure was sound, why didn’t you pay for a nationally recognised impartial expert to produce a full, comprehensive report and make it public? If this report countered the findings of the coroner’s witnesses, you might have a point – but a few quotes on video from 4 “experts” with questionable credentials looking at a tiny exposed part of the foundations tells us nothing.

To conclude, the plane theory is nothing short of crazy, the controlled demolition theory is far fetched (but if it’s to be believed actually implicates SCOAN) and the expert testimonies are woefully inadequate, little more than soundbites from people on the street.

If there was any credibility at all to these claims, surely TB Joshua would have turned up in court to present the evidence? Since he refused (4 times) to do this, SCOAN should do the victims families a favour and either shut up about their so called evidence, or do it properly and provide something substantial and believable.

TB Joshua, the “chief mourner” is missing from remembrance service

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Ex wiseman Racine reading out TB Joshua's address

Ex wiseman Racine reading out TB Joshua’s address

Today marks the one year anniversary of the tragic disaster at SCOAN that claimed 116 lives. One of the many excuses TB Joshua gave for not fulfilling his civic duty of appearing in court when summoned was that he was the “chief mourner” and was too busy tending to the needs to the families. As the “chief mourner” you would think he would be eager to be present for the one year remembrance service wouldn’t you? Not only was he not present, he didn’t even personally deliver his address, it was read out by ex-wiseman Racine. You can listen to the address in this video or read it on facebook. Wiseman Racine claims that TB Joshua would have loved to have been there in person, but due to security concerns he could not be. This seems an unlikely excuse, but even if this was the case, couldn’t he have done a live video/phone linkup like he used to do when he had international branches? Or at the very least he could have pre-recorded himself personally delivering the message instead of getting a minion to read it out. Of course we know the real reason he wasn’t there, in person or on camera is that he’s not even on the African continent right now, but he doesn’t want anyone to know.

Shortly after the building collapse he announced that he would be visiting South Africa every week in memory of the “martyrs”, and that this instruction was a “revelation from God” (7:10 and 9:04 in this video). Since this statement TB Joshua has not visited South Africa once (at least not in the capacity he described), not even for the one year remembrance service. Why was he disobedient to God’s command? Why did he lie to the victims families?

Meanwhile Kirsten Nematandani, SCOAN’s spokesman in South Africa (with his own shady past) has insisted that “The truth will come out one day, that’s what the man of God has said. Government will go deep into the matter because surely there are answers that are left hanging. Time shall tell.” (source). We’ve got news for you Kirsten, the truth came out back in July, everyone outside of SCOAN supporters know exactly what caused the collapse, the only answer left hanging is when the government are going to take action.

Here we have lie upon lie, coverup upon coverup. To those in SCOAN who know the deception that’s going on and are being used as pawns in this game, when are you going to wake up and remember the 9th commandment – do not bear false witness? Whatever you think you’ve seen or think you’re involved with, don’t let that distort and erode your God given moral compass. Lies come from the father of all lies, so as those who claim to follow “the way, the truth and the life”, it is your responsibility to be instruments of truth, exposing lies and deception.

Fake deliverance at SCOAN

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Not much going on in TB Joshua-land at the moment except for repeats of old material, so we’ll join the club and repeat one of our old articles. If you missed this the first time, read on to see evidence that nobody is really delivered at SCOAN.

A reader recently made us aware of a video of the ex-Pastor of SCOAN Athens being delivered over a year ago from a “spirit of lust and anger that caused him to be disgraced”. This is the same man who is now the subject of allegations of sexual abuse from 4 young women, and was recently described by Wise Man Harry as a “rude, disobedient, disrespectful and full of anger man”.

Two things should be observed here:

1) SCOAN are allowing “demon possessed” people to lead their branches

At the time of the deliverance, SCOAN Athens was still a fully functioning official branch. The man being delivered from demons was the pastor authorised by TB Joshua to lead this branch of his ministry. There are videos online of nearly all the foreign SCOAN leaders and disciples being dramatically delivered from demons, which leads you to wonder why they were ever chosen to lead within SCOAN? Who wants to be part of a church who’s leaders are crawling with demons? As it happens, the people who we know who have dedicated their lives to SCOAN were exemplary Christians, the fact they sacrificed successful careers, education and many other things to pursue full time ministry at SCOAN is testament to their desire to serve God with everything they had. These were exactly the kind of people you would be happy to see in church leadership…. nothing like the crazed, staring, demon-manifesting people we see after years of service to SCOAN. If this is what SCOAN does to you, keep as far away as possible.

2) Deliverance at SCOAN does not work

Or at least it didn’t seem to work in the case of the ex-Athens pastor, and this is far from the only deliverance fail we are aware of. Many years ago TB Joshua conducted a crusade in Australia. There was a well broadcast deliverance of a woman during this crusade, culminating in TB Joshua proclaiming her free, and even bizarrely claiming that her deliverance resulted in 5000 other people being set free. Giles was a disciple at the time, he says that “she later came to Lagos, and I was surprised to see her no different. She had come for more deliverance, and she was behaving the same way. Obviously she was not delivered in Australia.” There are also the well publicised cases of Nigerian celebrities such as Tonto Dike and Jim Iyke who TB Joshua has famously delivered, but without resulting in any visible change in lifestyle.

This is more evidence that you can’t trust anything you see on Emmanuel TV.

I wonder why today’s men in religion like publicizing deliverances and even bringing shame on those being delivered. Is this the way and will of God? Is it a way of attracting people for business or what? I would rather watch someone preach the word on TV and the rest should be done off TV or off screen. We need the word of truth on TVs more than deliverances and miracles. In fact Satan is more scared of the truth than miracles/deliverances. The truth liberates and the pure word of God is like fire.

 – goyethereforeblog

 

Confusion mounts as TB Joshua’s absence reaches 3 months

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“For God is not a God of confusion but of peace” 1 Cor 14:33a

TB Joshua

TB Joshua, the runaway prophet

TB Joshua has not appeared at SCOAN Lagos since the 3rd May and no explanation has been given by SCOAN. Sunday services are visibly depleted with no overflow congregation and little to no use of the balconies. Various news sources have reported the devastating effect his absence has had on the economy of the area around SCOAN HQ. Even pro-TB Joshua sources are showing signs of confusion. TB Joshua Fans UK and TB Joshua sponsored “reporters” Ihechukwu Njoku and Nosa Osazuwa have all published articles on the matter, acknowledging the drop in numbers but not showing any signs that they know the whereabouts of the runaway prophet.

Over a month ago we exclusively revealed that TB Joshua had not left Mexico after his crusade, remaining in Latin America to wait out the results of the court case, out of the reach of Nigerian authorities. Since then we’ve not seen any evidence that he’s returned, although we have not been able to confirm one way or another.

You could be forgiven for wondering why TB Joshua is still in hiding when it seems likely that he will only get a slap on the wrist and a $1250 fine. The problem he faces is that as an infallible man of God, the messiah of our time, Jesus of our generation and the one sent by God as a sign of his love for humankind, he can’t be seen to be making mistakes, let alone mistakes that led to the deaths of 116 people, accusations of criminal negligence and worldwide news coverage. That’s why SCOAN are so determined not to accept the coroners conclusion even if it does only come with a $1250 fine, paying that fine would be an admission of fault. That’s why SCOAN supporters are desperately grasping at straws trying to find alternative explanations for the building collapse to the litany of structural failings revealed in the coroner’s report. That’s why TB Joshua is unlikely to come out of hiding to face the music anytime soon. Messiah’s don’t make mistakes.

In the meantime, we’ve not heard anything credible or conclusive since the Mexico revelation, but various rumours abound. A keen viewer of Emmanuel TV noticed that some of his close confidants who were also missing since Mexico have recently returned to Lagos, does that mean he has too? Others have heard rumours that he is covertly setting up a new ministry and that SCOAN would be abandoned. Then there was the (slightly dubious) news article that claimed he was moving SCOAN HQ to Ondo in his home state, possibly leaving Lagos as a branch, or closing it altogether.

To TB Joshua’s disciples:

You have spent many of your best years sincerely believing that you were serving God under the mentor-ship of a great man of God, you have made uncountable sacrifices for the sake of this ministry. You have no doubt become so conditioned to the frequent lies, deception and misdirection employed by SCOAN that you hardly notice it. Hopefully this current haze of confusion about the future of SCOAN will awaken you to the fact that TB Joshua is not a pious man of God being persecuted, but a criminal escaping justice and refusing to take responsibility for his actions. There is no doubt about it, TB Joshua is going down. Whether he ends up being incarcerated remains to be seen, but his name is forever tarnished with the blood of 116 people who made huge sacrifices to visit him hoping for a miracle, but instead returned in coffins. The time to get out is now, SCOAN is crumbling, the longer you stay the more painful the exit will be. There are friends and family that long to see you, you will be welcomed with open arms. If money for air tickets is a problem, get in contact, there are people who can provide. If access to your passport is a problem, you only need to get to your nearest embassy for help.

Will SCOAN get away with a paltry $1250 fine?

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A few eagle eyed journalists have spotted a subtle discrepancy between the recent announcement from Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode and the recommendation of the coroner. The Coroner recommended that SCOAN and the contractor should be prosecuted for criminal negligence, the statement from the governor said that “the state government would prosecute the Synagogue Church of All Nations for neglecting to obtain building approval before commencing the building”. Journalist Nicholas Ibekwe (the same guy who exposed TB Joshua bribing journalists) explained what he expected this to mean:

Perhaps we’ll be seeing TB Joshua’s return from Mexico soon?

Questions SCOAN must answer about the attack on their building

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Regardless of your position on TB Joshua and SCOAN, you probably agree with us that the families who lost loved ones in the building collapse deserve the truth about what happened. The coroner has ruled that the building collapsed due to inadequate foundations, SCOAN strongly dispute this and have offered up evidence they believe points to sabotage, or some kind of terrorist attack – some serious claims! They have offered three lines of evidence (primarily though social media):

  1. Footage of a plane “hovering”, almost an hour before the building came down.
  2. CCTV footage that appeared to show the building come down symmetrically “like a controlled explosion”.
  3. The testimony of “experts” claiming that the foundations and supporting columns were sound.

Although it seems to only be SCOAN supporters who take these theories seriously, SCOAN has a lot of supporters, and they’re rather vocal. In this article we look at the three lines of evidence and ask some probing questions that we believe SCOAN should answer if it expects the general public to take them seriously.

Questions about the plane

Proof that it was 50 minutes between the last flyover of an aircraft and the building collapse

Proof that it was 50 minutes between the last flyover of an aircraft and the building collapse

The plane is the weakest piece of evidence. SCOAN seem to be suggesting that a plane seen on their CCTV system could have caused the collapse through some unspecified chemical or sonic attack. Here are some questions we would like to hear answers to:

  1. How did a sonic or chemical attack from an aircraft only demolish one building and leave the adjacent ones intact? Surely any technology if this nature wouldn’t be this directional when deployed from the air?
  2. If the building was attacked from the air, how does that explain it appearing to come down symmetrically?
  3. If it was chemical, what chemical was used? What traces were found of it on the site? How could the chemical be potent enough to destroy a building, but without causing any loss of life outside of the building?
  4. What does the airplane have to do with controlled demolition? These appear to be mutually exclusive theories.

Unless SCOAN can answer some of these questions and give some more details to explain why the appearance of a plane an hour before the collapse had anything to do with it, we think it is a complete red herring that can be rejected out of hand. So we will put aside this line of evidence and move on to the next.

Questions about the controlled demolition

Some examples of genuine building implosions.

Some examples of genuine building implosions.

By “controlled demolition”, what SCOAN are referring to is known as a “building implosion”, you can read more about this highly complex and technical demolition technique here. Normally a building implosion requires perfectly timed charges to be detonated in strategic locations across multiple floors. At the very least, to execute this kind of plan successfully, the perpetrators would need to have structural knowledge of the building to know where the key load bearing columns were. Then they would need access to the building to drill into these columns and plant the charges. If SCOAN want this line of evidence to be taken seriously, here are some questions they need to answer:

  1. How did terrorists gain access to structural data on the building in order to plan a controlled demolition?
  2. How did they get large quantities of explosives and other paraphernalia onto the site without being stopped by the armed security guards or caught on CCTV?
  3. How did they manage to drill into multiple points on the building to rig the explosives without being noticed or caught on CCTV?
  4. If the collapse was caused by explosives, why were there no reports of loud bangs? Why were all the injuries consistent with crushing, not burns and explosions?
  5. Were any traces of explosives or associated paraphernalia found on the site? Please give details.
  6. Who do you think was responsible for the attack? Why has nobody claimed responsibility? Why would a terror group go to the bother of executing a highly sophisticated attack, but neglect to claim responsibility?
  7. If you really do believe that your site was compromised to the extent that terrorists were able to prepare and execute this controlled demolition, what measures have you taken to ensure it won’t happen again? Have you had bomb disposal experts check the whole site? Why were you allowing large public gatherings to take place just days later? Either this was highly irresponsible, or you don’t believe your own stories.

Ironically, if we are to take the controlled demolition theory seriously (which we don’t) it actually ends up implicating SCOAN far more than the structural failure option. Executing a plan like this would have required such high level access for lengthy periods of time, doing indiscreet things like drilling into columns and laying wires that it is inconceivable that the building could have been demolished this way without it being an inside job. If SCOAN want this line of evidence to be pursued, they should be ready for all SCOAN staff and contractors to be treated as suspects. Structural failure would be criminal negligence, controlled demolition would be mass murder.

Questions about the “expert” testimony

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbWOmSECc-I

The “expert” testimony SCOAN have presented is a 13 minute video with 4 supposed “experts” standing over a small, exposed section of foundation. Not only is this video a completely inadequate way to address a hugely complex topic, the experts they have chosen are neither experts nor impartial. For example, the most lengthy “expert” testimony was Dr Stephen Asheri Ntoga, resplendent in an Emmanuel TV t-shirt (there goes any hope of impartiality). He claims to be the “Dean of the Faculty of Engineering in Tanzania”, but no University is mentioned! This title is completely meaningless if it’s not attached to a University. Furthermore, this Doctor has absolutely no online presence apart from this video, or references to the video. No published articles or papers, no news articles, no LinkedIn profile, no faculty staff page, nothing! The three other “experts” fair no better, none have any expertise that can be verified. Here are some questions SCOAN should answer:

  1. Why did the video only concentrate on a very small exposed part of the foundation? How do we know you weren’t just showing the part that was intact?
  2. If you are convinced that your structure was sound, why didn’t you pay for a nationally recognised impartial expert to produce a full, comprehensive report and make it public? If this report countered the findings of the coroner’s witnesses, you might have a point – but a few quotes on video from 4 “experts” with questionable credentials looking at a tiny exposed part of the foundations tells us nothing.

To conclude, the plane theory is nothing short of crazy, the controlled demolition theory is far fetched (but if it’s to be believed actually implicates SCOAN) and the expert testimonies are woefully inadequate, little more than soundbites from people on the street.

If there was any credibility at all to these claims, surely TB Joshua would have turned up in court to present the evidence? Since he refused (4 times) to do this, SCOAN should do the victims families a favour and either shut up about their so called evidence, or do it properly and provide something substantial and believable.

Further confirmation of sexual abuse at SCOAN Athens: Sandra’s story

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After posting Kate’s story of being sexually abused by TB Joshua’s pastor in Athens, “Sandra” got in contact with her story. Sandra previously served at SCOAN Athens as the right hand of the pastor.

Sandra’s Story

As an ex-member of SCOAN and of the Athens Branch, I want to confirm that everything Kate has said is true. I was Andreas right hand and worked extremely closely with him until I discovered the shocking things that these girls were going through. 2 of the abused girls came to me for help, despite the fact that it wasn’t permitted to share your secrets with anybody but Andreas and his wife. The girls were in a terrible state, contemplating suicide and completely overpowered by the terrible actions of this man. I was devastated by the way he justified his abuse to the girls.

Andreas told them that it was a blessing to have sexual contact with him, using verses from Songs of Solomon to justify himself, that he was doing these things to protect them from having relationships with other boys and that as their mentor, he had a right over their bodies. One thing which Kate forgot to mention is that he once told her “I am going to find you a nice boy to marry in the church, and then we can continue our relationship. You will keep the balance in your marriage as I am keeping it in mine”.

When I confronted him about it, he begged me for forgiveness and would then continue these dirty actions in secret until he was exposed again. Eventually I found out about a third and fourth girl who were being abused at the same time.

When we exposed these matters, Andreas fled back to Nigeria. He said that TB Joshua would handle the situation. When Kate went to Lagos with a letter signed by 8 of us, we expected TB Joshua to condemn the actions of Andreas and help us. Instead we were totally devastated. Tb Joshua gave an answer that was chilling. (It is all written in Kate’s article). Following our hundreds of emails to him, begging him for help, he called me one evening. He said the following to me:

‘I don’t want to lose you. I know you. I want you to stay by Andreas’ side now that he is coming back. As a wise man, you know like Harry. And you will be by my side too when I come to Greece’.

It was shocking that TB Joshua was ready to send Andreas back as a ‘wise man’ after everything he had done. He showed no consideration towards the pain we were going through. I was in a terrible state with a huge weight on my shoulders, and TB Joshua didn’t help me. We had to take matters into our own hands and go and tell his wife. Our purpose was to console her, to be there for her but she chose not to believe us. We were banned from attending meetings and called liars and betrayers.

The fruit of this ministry is lies. Andreas lived his life based on lies. He lied to his wife, he lied to the congregation and he lied to his workers. He would humiliate workers in meetings and expose them for being sexually impure, but then bring girls back to his office and sexually abuse them.

My question is: How did Andreas manage to do everything he did and have a clear conscience? It’s interesting to note that the systematic way Andreas abused girls is exactly the same way Bisola Johnson describes Tb Joshua abusing her. There does indeed appear to be a culture of sexual abuse at the SCOAN.

Evidence of a culture of sexual abuse at TB Joshua’s church (part 2)

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Below we feature the second part of a testimony from a young lady we’ll refer to as Kate who claims to have been sexually abused by the Pastor entrusted by TB Joshua to lead SCOAN Athens. As well as revealing horrifying details about life at SCOAN Athens, the story also shows a pattern of sexual abuse and coverup throughout SCOAN, coming from TB Joshua himself. Before writing off this story as false, readers should be aware that statistics show false rape claims are incredibly rare (between 2% and 8%). Considering the fact there are numerous women who allege TB Joshua or the Athens pastor have sexually abused them, the probability of them all being false is almost inconceivable. If you take the side of the alleged victim rather than the alleged perpetrator, statistically speaking you are far more likely to be on the right side.

Part 1 of Kate’s story can be read here.

Kate’s story part 2

As young people in the church, we were discouraged from having time to think. Andreas’ wife once said to me ‘As young people, your mind is always busy with negative, evil thoughts, with temptations. You need to work, work, work for God so that you don’t have time to think. Your work for God is your relationship with God’. This is another damaging teaching from the SCOAN. It is how much you ‘’work’’ for God that determines your standing before God. And by work they mean editing videos of TB Joshua or working for Emmanuel TV.

By November 2013, I was losing my mind.I gradually discovered that I was not the only girl being abused. This was going on with three other young women at the time. I confided in an older woman in the church called Sandra* and we went to confront Andeas. When we went to his office he said that I had a problem, that I needed prayer because I had seduced him. When Sandra* left, he told me that it was an evil spirit in me that had made me tell her. I told him that he had never been a true pastor for me and that he had totally destroyed my spiritual life.

When the matter became known amongst a small group of us, Andreas panicked and admitted that he had he begged TB Joshua to call him back to Nigeria. Before he left, he said to me ‘you are incapable of living without me. You can never remove what you have in your heart for me.” I then asked him ‘How do you think God sees our relationship?’ He looked at me as if I’d said something weird and said ‘God? He sees it as wrong. But as long as He is first in our hearts, God doesn’t pay attention to this kind of thing. And anyway, you cannot remove what you have in your heart for me.’

One of the main ways SCOAN have tried to cover up this issue was by preaching ‘forgiveness’. Andreas made sure that every sermon after this confrontation was about how if we don’t forgive, God would never forgive us. And by forgive he meant never speak about it, never tell anyone, suffer in silence.

Andreas’ wife appeared to know nothing, and when he left for Nigeria, most members of the branch was still under the impression that he was a wonderful, exemplary pastor. Once he was gone, I knew the situation couldn’t go on with this level of hypocrisy, so I booked a flight and went to Lagos to report him to TB Joshua. In my mind I was so sure that as a man of God, he would have the answer and everything would be alright. I was very mistaken.

After asking to see TB Joshua for 2 days, I was finally let into his office. I brought with me a letter signed by 8 people in Athens. In the letter we begged TB Joshua to take action, to condemn what Andreas had done and to confirm that he would never allow him to return to Athens.TB Joshua said the following shocking sentence:

‘What happened to you happened in the house of God, which means God is aware. If it had happened out in the world, it would be very bad, but because it happened in the house of God, it’s ok’.

Surely sexual abuse is terrible wherever it takes place, ESPECIALLY in the house of God?

He then looked at me very sternly and warned me ‘not to discuss it with anyone’. He said I should tell the people in Athens that the past is over and they should not think about it anymore, that he didn’t even need to read the letter. We should all move on.

This was TB Joshua’s first attempt to cover up the issue. Nothing changed after that. Andreas continued to be a disciple, his wife continued to run the branch without the knowledge of anything and we were all supposed to continue just as we were before. I now realize his incapability to deal with my own situation is because he was incapable of dealing with his own unresolved situations.

I returned to Athens and we up telling his wife the whole truth. She refused to believe us, we were banned from the church and called liars, prostitutes and betrayers of the ministry. SCOAN members all over Greece were split between believing us and not believing us. Most people called us blasphemers. When seen on the street we would be given dirty looks by church members. This was going on for a month and TB Joshua was doing nothing about it, despite our hundreds of emails asking for help. One evening, we were shocked by a phone call from TB Joshua himself. He said the following ‘I want you to be by Andreas’ side when he returns to Athens, you know, as a wise man like Harry’. We felt defeated. How could Andreas be sent as a wise man after all this? He tried telling us that he would send Andreas as a wise man in order to silence us with the fear that he would return as a holy man of God. When he saw that this tactic didn’t work, he sent Wise Man Harry to claim that TB Joshua never knew him in the first place. This showed terrible judgment and confusion on the part of TB Joshua.

After I told my parents the truth, they wrote an email to TB Joshua threatening to sue the ministry and Andreas if action was not taken and we were not justified. They demanded that a representative of the branch who can speak Greek be sent to sort the situation out. Hundreds of emails had been sent by SCOAN Athens members but TB Joshua had done nothing about it. The moment he was threatened however, he responded. 2 days later Wise Man Harry was sent to Athens. We were hopeful because we thought we would finally be vindicated- but no such thing.

Wise Man Harry stood on stage at about 12pm on Sunday June 1st 2014. He delivered a sermon of lies to the congregation. TB Joshua totally disassociated himself with the branch and denied having any connection with Andreas. There was no mention whatsoever of sexual abuse or the names of any girls. Wise man Harry was told by TB Joshua to say that it was Andreas’ arrogance and anger that led him to open the branch without the permission of TB Joshua. It’s interesting how for 8 years, SCOAN claim that they had no control over the Athens branch and that it was opened by Andreas on his own. If that is truly the case, then why are there videos all over youtube saying ‘TB Joshua has sent the anointed water to the Athens Branch? Why is there a whole DVD of wise man Harry holding a service at the Athens Branch? Why did they have the control to close it 8 years later? Why were the tithes of the branch sent to Nigeria and used for TB Joshua’s expenses? Why were most of the church members Emmanuel TV partners? Why did TB Joshua call us from time to time during a Sunday service in Athens and ‘greet his people’ over loudspeaker? And why up until June 1st was there a section on the SCOAN website called ‘Branches’ which included Athens with the address and phone number?

Harry’s message brought tension and confusion throughout the congregation. When people stood up and protested to what he was saying he said ‘do not blaspheme the name of Jesus Christ’, after he had just told lie upon lie to cover the reputation of the ministry. You can listen to the full audio recording and read the transcription in the other article. Shortly after this, a riot broke out amongst SCOAN followers and armed riot police had to come and break it up. By the next day, the Athens Branch was closed down and outraged members gathered outside to ask for their money and possessions back, having made huge financial investments in the church over the last eight years.

Unfortunately this is just the way SCOAN deal with their issues. TB Joshua will pay any price for the sake of his reputation. He did not care for the broken hearted. He totally betrayed his faithful followers. He will stop at nothing to protect the name of the church while people suffer. It is a dangerous organisation. I want to mention that I was a young person who had given my heart entirely to this ministry. I waited patiently for TB Joshua to be the man of God he claims to be but I was devastated and my life was turned upside down by the level of deception and hypocrisy.

This ministry is very good at putting on a very attractive performance but unfortunately that’s all it is. At the end of the day the life and soul of this church is about the worship of TB Joshua alone. The moment you start to think for yourself is when you become a threat to them.

I know that SCOAN will respond to this article with it’s usual attacks. There are disciples in the ministry who are specifically dedicated to this activity. This is the reason they film your confession when you first join the church. They hold you hostage with the knowledge that your intimate confessions could be made public at anytime in the future. I am sure they will do the same with me but it’s a price I’m willing to pay.

It’s hard to believe these serious allegations when you have dedicated your heart and soul to the ministry. I know I once read TB Joshua Watch and refused to believe a word of it. SCOAN will always say that people speaking against the ministry are of the devil. It’s not true. We are all people who have had a terrible experience and want to warn others. It does not benefit me in any way to share my experience with you. If anything, it’s incredibly risky and difficult. But if this can help someone then it’s worth it.

Evidence of a culture of sexual abuse at TB Joshua’s church (part 1)

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Below we feature a testimony from a young lady we’ll refer to as Kate who claims to have been sexually abused by the Pastor entrusted by TB Joshua to lead SCOAN Athens. As well as revealing horrifying details about life at SCOAN Athens, the story also shows a pattern of sexual abuse and coverup throughout SCOAN, coming from TB Joshua himself. Before writing off this story as false, readers should be aware that statistics show false rape claims are incredibly rare (between 2% and 8%). Considering the fact there are numerous women who allege TB Joshua or the Athens pastor have sexually abused them, the probability of them all being false is almost inconceivable. If you take the side of the alleged victim rather than the alleged perpetrator, statistically speaking you are far more likely to be on the right side.

Kate’s story part 1

I’m writing this article because I want to share my experience of SCOAN. I am yet another person who has seen the truth behind this organization and it’s necessary that I put my story out there. I know that SCOAN are going to respond by humiliating me as they always do to ex members (via the Watch TB Joshua Blog) but if I can share this story and help even one person see the truth about this church, it’s worth it.

As you have most likely heard, on June 1st 2014, the Greek branch was shut down. Wise man Harry paid a visit and told the members of the congregation that it was never a branch in the first place. It was opened without the permission of TB Joshua by the disciple Andreas and his wife. To our astonishment, he said that if one were to look at the legal documents, TB Joshua’s name would not be found anywhere. Andreas opened the branch on his own accord, with a lot of anger and disrespect towards TB Joshua. In fact, he said, TB Joshua does not have any branches anywhere in the world. You can listen to a live recording of this attached in another article.

This was very confusing for the members of the Athens Branch, myself included. I had been an active member of both the London Branch and the Athens Branch for over three years and now their existence was being denied. TB Joshua was completely disassociating himself from the events that led to the closure of the branch. I am now going to explain what those exact events were.

The Athens Branch was in fact a fully functioning official branch of SCOAN. Wise man Harry had been given instructions by TB Joshua to lie. I was amongst the youth that worked full time in the church and was very close to Andreas (who had been running the branch for eight years). I was also one of the 11 girls who had been sexually and emotionally abused and manipulated by Andreas. The previous article referring to the closure of the branch states it was only 4 girls, however now we have discovered that at least eleven girls in the youth have been harassed sexually by Andreas. Before it began, he spent months creating a close relationship of trust with me and gave himself the place of a mentor in my life. He used the title ‘man of God’ to force people into doing what they didn’t want to do.

Looking back on it now, it’s as if his tactics were learnt from TB Joshua. After listening to Bisola Johnson on Deception of the Age documentary describe the ways that TB Joshua sexually abused her, I was shocked to find that it is exactly the same as my own and other girls’ experience. In fact, one of the first things Andreas told me was that TB Joshua slept with a girl and she left the ministry for something that was actually a blessing to her. He said ‘any contact you have with an anointed man of God is a blessing’. He also once told me ‘sex is not bad, it’s the love of sex that is bad’. He actually used the Bible to justify his actions and read from Songs of Solomon.

And while this was going on, I wasn’t the only girl. A few years prior to this, [———details removed due to ongoing investigation———].

He would very frequently have girls in his office for hours. While my own abuse was taking place, I had no idea other girls were undergoing the same terrible situation. It was sick how he could do what he was doing with young women right before service, and then come out and preach to the congregation about holiness and putting God first. Bisola Johnson describes that TB Joshua would abuse her before service and then come out and preach as well. It’s as if it was a tactic that Andreas picked up from TB Joshua. Anytime his wife was around he would be cold and distant with us, ignoring us. The moment she left he would become a different person. His ways were manipulative. With me he would often be very warm and welcoming or extremely cruel and condescending- never in between. We all spent a lot of time wondering what we had done wrong. Before workers’ meetings took place, he would prepare untrue accusations and make one worker to publicly falsely accuse another. A disciple later told me that this is a common practice used in SCOAN to test people’s characters and faith. Nobody in the church trusted each other. We were all afraid of being reported- another characteristic of SCOAN. Andreas would also discourage me from having a close relationship with any of the other girls and say that he was the only one that should know my secrets. I now realise that this was a tactic to avoid us talking to each other about the things he was doing.

I have heard the stories of three different women who will remain anonymous that have been sexually abused by TB Joshua. Like Andreas, he also used strange excuses to justify his actions. In some instances, he has said that having sexual relations with him will purify a woman. As someone who has been through it myself by his disciple Andreas, I know that you do not wake up one morning and make something up like that. To go from being someone that has given their life to the church to turning against the church, something must have happened. SCOAN call it ‘blasphemy’ and that you are demon possessed if you speak against the ministry. This is a way of keeping the members brainwashed and in fear. In fact, a few members of the ministry who I told my story to, although they believed me, have now shut me out of their lives. They are so afraid of turning against a ‘man of God’ that they would rather live a lie than face reality. This is one of the key characteristics of cults.

I asked Andreas to stop this sick relationship twice and he would always start it again. It’s as if he was convinced it was the right thing to do. When I eventually took this issue to Nigeria, TB Joshua’s inability to deal with the situation made me realize that it was because he couldn’t deal with his own urges and lack of control. I will move on to this later.

Read part 2 of Kate’s story here

Breaking news: SCOAN Thesselonica is coming

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SCOAN international branches have been dropping like flies in recent years. Once there was a branch in London, Capetown, Athens and Ghana – today, only Ghana remains. This is set to change at the end of this month when a new Greece branch opens: SCOAN Thesselonica. We’re not aware of any official word from SCOAN yet, but clearly the branch has the official nod from them because “Wise Man” Harry is featured at the inauguration.

Now is a good time to remind our readers what happened to the last SCOAN branch in Greece. You can read Jeremiah report of the scandal that brought down the church here. In the next couple of days we will bring a report of Wiseman Harry’s final visit to SCOAN Athens when he was sent by TB Joshua to shut down the church and falsely claim that it had never officially existed. Following that we will feature a testimony from one of the young ladies who claims to have been sexually abused by the SCOAN Pastor.