After the BBC unmasked how the late Nigerian televangelist TB Joshua faked the miracles that drew millions of people to his church, this took us back to Nollywood actor Jim Iyke, who has been narrating his encounter with the popular man of God and how he failed him.
This is coming after he camped in the church premises for two and a half weeks searching for a miracle for his sick mother and suddenly woke up to the news that he had been delivered from a demonic spirit at the Synagogue Church of All Nations. Embarrassing photos and videos from a deliverance session were splashed across newspapers and blogs in September of 2013.
Jim Iyke insists that the late prophet hurt him deeply, and he may never find a place in his heart to forgive him.
Why was his encounter with TB Joshua different?
What happened to Jim Iyke at TB Joshua church many years ago?
Was the actor and his late mother a victim of the late prophet’s manipulation tactics, as documented in the BBC African Eye documentary?
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Nollywood actor James Ikechukwu Esomugha, professionally known as Jim Iyke, was famous for many things. The screen was known for his charisma, eloquence, and, of course, his Oscar-worthy performances when given Bad Boy roles in movies. But one thing everyone didn’t know about Jim is that he was a confirmed mama’s boy. His now late mother, Mrs Gladys Esomugha, was his best friend, confidant, and perhaps the love of his life.
Sadly, the actor’s mother got very sick sometime in 2013, and the search for a solution to her health began. While speaking with Teju Babyface during an October 2023 interview, Jim Iyke revealed that he and his sisters were extorted financially by several men of God over his mother’s ailment, promising that she would live. Unfortunately, his mother’s health was not improving. The actor sought advanced medical care in Houston, US and India, but when conventional methods failed, a senator friend advised him to take her to TB Joshua church. Initially, Jim Iyke refused, but after much pressure from his family, he decided to take his mother to SCOAN. The actor lamented he was desperate, “At that point, if they told me there would be a cure in hell, I would go”.
Jim Iyke visited the church with his security officer, one of his sisters, and his personal assistant. Upon reaching the church, he was advised to admit his mother to a hospital located near the church. Being a celebrity, he was lodged in a presidential suite.
“They told us to put her in a hospital close to the church. There was a Presidential Suite I was accorded. While I was there, I said okay, let’s get started, they said I must come down to join the service. I said I don’t have to come down to join the service and that you people promised to heal her. Do God need me to be there? “He told Chude Jideonwo during an interview in February 2022.”
After much pressure, the actor’s sister convinced him to join the service if that meant the prophet would heal his mother. “I said I will live in this church for two years if you heal my mum…I remember I was there; my sister was behind me when this guy came and was doing stuff. When he crossed me, I chuckle,” he explained.
Jim Iyke was becoming impatient as things were moving slower than he expected. He started complaining about the theatrics around him and told his sister they should leave. “And I said, common men, this is childish; this is not what we came here for. Let’s move Mom out of here and keep looking for medical help. Then we were about to go to South Africa, there was this young man that was also recommended to us, a specialist as well,” he explained.
However, before the movie star could leave, a man approached him, touched him, and suddenly, he was being delivered by a demonic spirit. Jim Iyke said he could not explain what happened to him after that because he was saying embarrassing things.
“I’m not here to start proffering explanations to spiritual things that are way beyond me. I’m a man that understands how things work. That I cannot explain and nobody can suggest anything otherwise because I know what happened to me. Within that time, lacks explanations, they said I said stuff, did stuff which I found to be extremely embarrassing,” he explained.
On September 29, 2013, the Nollywood actor, like everyone else, woke up to videos of him during the deliverance session. According to the Man of God, the demonic spirit was the reason Jim Iyke had problems finding real love and marriage. During the whole deliverance session, the Nollywood star was subdued in spirit. The actor appeared dazed, wobbled and wept uncontrollably as the Man of God cast him free of the demonic possession.
As the Man of God conducted the deliverance session, Jim Iyke responded, “You know I can’t marry… I have been trying to destroy his career.” The actor, possessed by the spirit, attempted to run out of the auditorium but was held back by the prophet. The spirit kept shouting through Iyke, “I can’t breathe. I can’t let him go. He will never go. I will never let him go. This one is the biggest of them all.” After a while, the man of God told Jim, “Rise you are free.” To which he responded with “Thank you Jesus” while panting, crying and demanding to know how his shoes were removed and who removed them.
Within a few hours of Jim Iyke’s deliverance, mixed reactions were seen nationwide. The rumour circulating was that TB Joshua paid him for the theatrics.
In an interview with Hip TV in October 2017, the “Bad Comments” producer revealed that this incident almost ruined his career. Furthermore, he had to deal with the loss of his mother, making the situation even worse.
In a revealing conversation with Chude Jideonwo, the actor disclosed that despite spending two and a half weeks at the SCOAN headquarters in Lagos, TB Joshua did not see his mother or lay hands on her. Instead, the prophet and his team kept giving him excuses until they embarrassed him on national television. Sadly, his mother passed away on April 1, 2014, leaving him with the painful realization that the prophet’s healing powers were nothing but a façade.
While speaking with Channels TV, Jim Iyke accused TB Joshua of taking advantage of his desperation to heal his mother, and he may never forgive him for the humiliation he suffered. Not only that, Jim Iyke was hurt and felt a lot of anger towards the man of God, and it began to wreck his marriage bit by bit. By the time his mum passed and was not around to see him welcome his first male child with his wife, his marriage went downhill from there.
The actor also told Teju Babyface that this experience taught him a colossal lesson never to be desperate about anything again, as he accepted that his mother died because it was her time, and nothing he would have done would have saved her.
Further opening up with Chude Jideonwo, the movie star reflected that the world is deep and that when he saw the videos from his encounter with TB Joshua, he denied being the one, but it was him. “This world is deep, there’s a spiritual something I’ve come to notice about this world that is way beyond us,” he explained.
After the shocking three-part investigative documentary by BBC, many Nigerian celebrities have come out to share their experience with the man in the synagogue. The likes of popular Yoruba actress Ronke Oshodi-Oke came out to testify that he healed her daughter of asthma. BBNaija star Frodd claimed the SCOAN founder gave him a scholarship when he was in the university and gave him an allowance of 8000 Naira every day in 2010. Fast-rising singer Victor AD claimed the late prophet cured his sister of blindness, healed his mum of a gunshot injury on her hand, and was kind to his family. Many others, like former Big Brother Naija contestant Kesiena Adjekpovu and Madam Saje, testified to TB Joshua’s good works.
Hmmm
Tell us, guys, what do you think about Jim Iyke’s encounter with TB Joshua and his church?
Do you agree with the actor that the late prophet took advantage of him?
Do you think his unwillingness to forgive TB Joshua is justified, based on the way he was humiliated and his sick mother ignored?
Finally, do you believe Jim Iyke saw TB Joshua as the man BBC claimed he is today, and this is why he walked away, never to return?
