Popular but controversial Nigerian priest TB Joshua dies at the age of 57. Religious News

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His church said that the TV preacher who established a large Christian church in Lagos died for unknown reasons.

His church said on Facebook that Temitope Balogun Joshua, a popular but controversial Nigerian evangelical preacher, died for unknown reasons. He is 57 years old.

This missionary, commonly known as TB Joshua, founded the Synagogue of All Nations in Lagos, a large Christian church.

The father of three is one of Africa’s most influential missionaries, with millions of fans on TV and social media. More than 15,000 people from Nigeria and abroad attended his Sunday service.

“God has brought home his servant Prophet TB Joshua… His last moments on earth are in service to God,” the church wrote on its Facebook page on Sunday, but did not provide more details.

Olalekan Ojo, an attorney for the pastor, also confirmed his death.

Ocho told AFP: “I confirm the man of God, Pastor TB Joshua died on Saturday after his evening show.”

Al Jazeera’s Ahmed Idris reported from Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, that the missionary is one of the most respected pastors in Africa’s most populous country.

“He rose to fame in the 1990s, when there was a surge in television evangelism in Nigeria and many parts of Africa. He was one of Nigeria’s most followed missionaries. [across] Africa,” Idris said.

He is also very popular in South America, where he organized many religious movements.

dispute

TB Joshua is known for predicting and claiming that he can cure various diseases and make people prosper through miracles.

However, he is controversial, with critics questioning his claims and saying that he profited from hope seekers.

According to Forbes, he estimates that he has millions of dollars in wealth.

Many African presidents, senior government officials, international football players, musicians and other well-known guests have worshipped in his church.

September 2014, the church guest house collapse, Killed more than 100 people, most of them foreigners who participated in his service in Nigeria.

Although the authorities said the building collapsed because of structural defects, TB Joshua insisted that the building was destroyed by a small plane, which he claimed flew over it shortly before the fall.

In April, the pastor’s YouTube channel with more than 1.8 million subscribers and 600 million views was shut down due to allegations of hate speech against LGBTQ people.

In one of his videos, viewed more than 1.5 million times, someone saw a woman being violently beaten to “cure” her sexual orientation.

Homosexuality is illegal in the most populous countries in Africa, and “homosexual acts” can be sentenced to 14 years in prison.

Facebook also deleted several videos on Joshua’s page because his anti-LGBTQ comments have more than 5.7 million fans.



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