Lagos: Nigerian media reports have stated that renowned Nigerian televangelist, TB Joshua who died in 2021 aged 58 from an undisclosed illness, was seeking treatment for his condition privately in Turkey. According to Nigeria’s Sahara Reporters, Joshua hid his illness from his followers and flew to Turkey to seek treatment.

According to Cameroon News Agency, Omoyele Sowore, a Nigerian human rights activist, revealed that Joshua chose to keep his health condition a secret. ‘TB Joshua, when he had a stroke, didn’t even go to a Christian country. He went to Turkey. He spent time in Turkey treating his stroke. He was flown there by his private jet,’ Sowore is quoted as saying.

Sowore suggested that Joshua’s secrecy about his health issues contributed to his death, stating, ‘But many people never heard that TB Joshua was treated in Turkey when he had a stroke.’

He further remarked on what he believed contributed to Joshua’s demise: ‘Part of what I heard killed him is that he was hiding his sickness, and when he
was supposed to go for the treatment, he didn’t want the public to know that he had a stroke. It was never made public.’

Sowore questioned why other religious figures known for claiming to perform miracles did not intervene in Joshua’s case. ‘I wondered, if TB Joshua had a stroke and this our brother in Port Harcourt (Prophet Umueke Miracle of Dynamic Flame of Fire and Miracle Ministries) has the ability to cure stroke, TB Joshua could have been one of the people he could have used. He shouldn’t have allowed a brother-man of God to die of stroke. That is unfair,’ he said.

Sowore further accused other high-profile religious leaders in Nigeria, particularly general overseers (GOs), of deceiving their followers by promoting supernatural healing while secretly accessing top-tier medical care.