Mrs Funke Ashekun, Nigerian social media influencer and YouTuber has alleged that the General Overseer of the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM), Dr Daniel Olukoya, grabbed her, placed his forehead against hers, and hypnotised her in his counselling room.
In an exclusive interview with SaharaReporters, Ashekun, who spent nearly 20 years in the church and served as a minister, shared her disturbing experiences.
She was actively involved in the church’s visionary work, travelled abroad to train ministers in worship, and led the singles’ fellowship known as Padu.
Ashekun recounted an unsettling incident that allegedly took place when she visited Olukoya’s office—not for deliverance, but to submit an official report about a recent singles’ fellowship programme.
Her husband had become a full-time church worker, and she had also been made a full-time worker.
“Without any warning, Olukoya pulled me close and placed his forehead against mine,” she recalled. “He then said, ‘Look straight into my eyes.’
“The moment I did, I felt something very unsettling—almost hypnotic. I couldn’t understand what was happening, but it felt deeply uncomfortable.”
Ashekun admitted that at the time, she did not suspect anything sinister because Olukoya was known for preaching about holiness and deliverance.
She shared that after moving to the U.S., she started receiving messages from several women who said they had gone through the same experience.
“They told me that every time he did this, they would lose consciousness,” she said.
“That was when I realised—it wasn’t just an uncomfortable moment; it was hypnotism. Thank God I didn’t lose consciousness that day. Otherwise, I, too, might have become one of his victims.”
Before leaving Nigeria, Ashekun said she encountered a woman who had been suicidal due to years of alleged sexual abuse by Olukoya.
“She was brought to my husband and me for prayers. That was the first time I heard allegations of s3xual assault against Olukoya. I was shocked—this was happening in the same church we attended?”
According to Ashekun, multiple women came forward with similar stories. Olukoya allegedly targeted vulnerable women—young girls from the youth church, single mothers, and women in financial distress—under the guise of spiritual deliverance.
“He would tell them, ‘There is a snake in your womb. That is why you cannot settle down maritally.’ Then, under the pretence of deliverance, he would take them inside his private toilet,” Ashekun stated.
“When I first exposed this, many people attacked me, saying, ‘There is no toilet in that office! We’ve been going there for years!’ But not everyone was allowed in. The victims insisted that he only took certain people there.”
She further alleged that during these sessions, Olukoya would claim he needed to anoint their private parts, using this as a means to assault them.
She noted that some victims reported experiencing strange spiritual attacks after these encounters.
“One woman told me that after he assaulted her, he cleansed the fluid from her private area. As Africans, we know what that means. That sounds like a ritual,” she said.
One of the most shocking revelations came when victims disclosed that Olukoya allegedly recorded the assaults without their consent.
“After these encounters, they would receive video clips from him—recordings of themselves during the assault,” Ashekun claimed.
“One of the victims sent me a video. I watched it. And I saw Olukoya himself—reaching for the camera to turn it off.”
She alleged that members of Olukoya’s inner circle have confirmed he possesses advanced recording gadgets disguised as pens, buttons, or small objects.
Ashekun mentioned an individual named Akweji, who reportedly worked as an agent for Olukoya, helping to procure women for him.
“He admitted this on my show. He confirmed that Olukoya forwarded some of these recorded videos to a third party,” she said.
Ashekun lamented that she has struggled to get mainstream media outlets to report on these allegations due to fear of retaliation.
According to her, Olukoya retaliates against whistleblowers by filing multiple lawsuits.
“I am currently facing four lawsuits here in the U.S.,” she added.
Attempts to contact the MFM spokesman, Mr. Collins Edomaruse, for a response to the allegations were unsuccessful.
