The BBC has unearthed new evidence the late Nigerian megachurch leader TB Joshua hid dead bodies and intimidated families, to cover up his role in the collapse of a building which killed at least 116 people at his church in 2014.
The collapse is one of the worst disasters to ever strike a place of worship in Africa.
The BBC’s investigation is the first time insiders from TB Joshua’s Synagogue Church of All Nations (Scoan) in Lagos have presented evidence of what caused the incident nearly 10 years ago, and of how the pastor allegedly orchestrated a cover-up.
It follows evidence uncovered by the BBC of widespread abuse and torture by the founder of one of the world’s biggest Christian evangelical churches.
Two days after the collapse on 12 September 2014, TB Joshua publicly said it was linked to an aircraft that flew over the building used to house visiting pilgrims.
But an inquiry by a Lagos coroner agreed with emergency workers that structural failure had caused the guest house to collapse, and said it had been built without proper planning permission.
Eyewitnesses told the BBC that TB Joshua had been warned of serious structural problems prior to the disaster. They say the aeroplane explanation was a “lie”.
“He knew the building was unstable,” says Emmanuel, who spent more than a decade as a disciple of TB Joshua – a group of devout followers who lived in his church in Lagos.
Like most of the former disciples interviewed by the BBC, he opted to only use his first name.
He described the pastor receiving a report, hours before the collapse, that the building was “swaying” and “shaking”.
