Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministry general overseer Pastor Olukoya wins London libel case

MOUNTAIN of Fire and Miracles Ministry (MFM) general overseer Pastor Daniel Olukoya and his wife Folashade have been awarded £100,000 as damages for libel by a London high court after winning a  malicious falsehood case.

At the end of a long-running legal saga, the London High Court of Justice's, Queen’s Bench Division, ordered Maureen Badejo to pay the couple the money after finding in their favour. In her ruling, the judge, Mrs Justice Tipples, specifically awarded the sum of £65,000 to Pastor Olukoya and £35,000 to his wife.

Designated as Claim Number QB-2020-003625 by the court, the three claimants in the suit, are MFM, Dr Olukoya and Mrs Olukoya with Ms Badejo as the sole defendant.  In assessing the damages, the court recognised a campaign conducted by Ms Badejo against the Olukoyas.

“It is ordered and adjudged that the damages payable by the defendant to the second claimant be assessed in the sum of £65,000. And is further ordered and adjudged that the damages payable by the defendant to the third claimant be assessed in the sum of £35,000,” Justice Tipples held.

Ms Badejo had alleged, among others, that the MFM general overseer and the MFM UK trustees were fraudsters, claiming that they were involved in fraud being investigated by the Charity Commission. She also falsely claimed that Mrs Olukoya, also a pastor in the church, was on its payroll, earning a £35,000 salary annually.

Furthermore, she alleged that Dr Olukoya had abandoned his family and refused to take care of them. In its ruling the court also ordered Ms Badejo to publish a summary of its judgment across nine of her social media channels for 10 days as a corrective measure to ensure the judgment reached all of her viewers.