Why Youtube deleted TB Joshua’s channel with over 500,000 subscribers

The YouTube channel of late Nigerian televangelist, Temitope Balogun Joshua, has been deleted by the online video sharing platform.

This follows allegations of sexual and physical abuse levelled against the late preacher in a BBC Documentary.

The channel which had more than 500,000 subscribers and hundreds of millions of views was reported by BBC and Open Democracy for allegedly violating the platform’s guidelines.

The video-sharing platform said Emmanuel TV had been “terminated for violation of YouTube’s Terms of Service.”

As part of the investigation into TB Joshua’s activities at his Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), BBC analysed Emmanuel TV’s online presence, finding at least 50 “abusive” videos on YouTube.

The team then reported the videos to YouTube and the account was suspended on 29 January.

Recall that survivors of TB Joshua’s alleged sexual exploitation narrated how they were allegedly manipulated and silenced.

Meanwhile, this is coming after Emmanuel TV exited MultiChoice’s Dstv, GOtv, and other pay-TV services on January 17, 2024.

The women who were part of TB Joshua’s disciples said the televangelist allegedly molested and raped them.

According to the BBC, TB Joshua told the women he was sexually assaulting them for their salvation.

A woman identified as Abisola said she was in the church for 14 years and was allegedly raped throughout her stay.

When the women got pregnant as a result of being allegedly raped many times, they were forced to get an abortion in a dingy clinic inside the synagogue.

The documentary also reopened the controversy that trailed the collapse of SCOAN’s guesthouse in September 2014, detailing from witness testimonies how the church attempted to cover-up the structural lapses in the building.

It added that families of victims were allegedly offered cash compensation with a threat not to speak to the media.

The BBC said it found dismembered bodies of victims under the rubble, and dead bodies were allegedly transferred in SCOAN ambulances to shield the reality of the disaster from the press to protect both the image of the church and TB Joshua.

TB Joshua died from an undisclosed cause on June 5, 2021. His wife, Evelyn, was named successor and leader of the church.