UK-BASED NIGERIAN BLOGGER MAUREEN BADEJO ARRESTED OVER PETITIONS BY APOSTLE SULEMAN, PASTOR OLUKOYA
UK-based Nigerian blogger and media personality, Maureen Badejo, has been arrested by operatives of the Nigeria Police Force following petitions reportedly filed against her by prominent Nigerian Christian clerics.
Badejo, the founder of GIOTV, was taken into custody on Friday in Lagos by detectives from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and is currently being interrogated at the Cybercrime Unit in Adekunle, Yaba.
Sources disclosed that the arrest followed complaints submitted by the General Overseer of Omega Fire Ministries, Apostle Johnson Suleman, and the General Overseer of the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM), Dr Daniel Olukoya.
Although the exact details of the allegations have not been made public, the petitions are said to be linked to Badejo’s online publications and social media content, which allegedly targeted the clerics.
As of the time of filing this report, the Nigeria Police Force has not released an official statement confirming the specific charges against Badejo or the legal grounds for her detention.
It will be recalled that in March 2022, a UK High Court (Queen’s Bench Division) ordered Apostle Johnson Suleman to pay £19,601 to Badejo following a defamation suit he instituted against her.
However, in August 2023, Badejo reportedly rejected an offer by Suleman to liquidate the judgment sum in monthly instalments of £500. Court records show that under Claim No. QB-2022-000504, Judge His Honour Judge Lewis dismissed Suleman’s application and upheld Badejo’s entitlement to legal costs.
Following the court ruling, members of the Nigerian diaspora reportedly raised funds to support Badejo’s legal defence.
In December 2023, a former MFM pastor, Sunday Bawura Olowoyeye, filed a ₦1 billion lawsuit against Dr Daniel Olukoya, alleging unlawful detention. Olowoyeye claimed he was detained at the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), Alagbon, for 16 days after sharing his grievances with Badejo, which were later published online.
According to Olowoyeye, his arrest followed his interview with the blogger, during which he accused the church of neglecting him and his family during a critical period when his wife was seriously ill.
Badejo is known for conducting interviews with individuals who have made allegations against both Apostle Suleman and Pastor Olukoya. Several of these allegations have neither been publicly addressed nor formally refuted by the clerics.
Developments surrounding her arrest continue to generate reactions, as observers await an official response from the police authorities.
