MFM GO Paid Me $7,000 Despite Defamation Suit – Sowore
Omoyele Sowore, the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in the 2023 election, has recounted his legal tussle with Dr. Daniel Olukoya, the General Overseer of the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM).
Speaking in a candid revelation during a recent episode of The Honest Bunch podcast, Sowore, known for his fearless stance on public issues, narrated how Dr. Olukoya filed a defamation lawsuit against him both in Nigeria and the United States. According to Sowore, the MFM founder initiated the legal action to “teach him a lesson.”
It was gathered that the case began in Calabar, Nigeria, where Olukoya filed a suit against Sowore. However, the proceedings reportedly stalled because Sowore was not in the country at the time, preventing proper service of court documents. The legal battle eventually shifted to the United States, where both parties met in court.
During the trial, Sowore explained that the court demanded evidence to substantiate Olukoya’s defamation claims. The judge queried if the pastor had suffered financial loss or reputational damage due to the alleged defamatory publications. Surprisingly, Olukoya admitted that his church’s membership had increased despite the controversy.
Sowore further recounted how Olukoya was asked to provide proof of the alleged harm caused by the publication, including any messages from congregants expressing dissatisfaction or distress. The pastor claimed there were “thousands” of such messages but failed to present them during the discovery process, a legal requirement in U.S. courts.
“He didn’t come back with the evidence. The court then awarded me $7,000 for his refusal to answer our discovery request,” Sowore said.
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Reflecting on the significance of the judgment, Sowore revealed that the $7,000 came at a crucial time when he was in Abuja and struggling to pay his rent. “I used the money to pay my rent,” he said, emphasizing the irony of the situation.
He said, “There was a pastor in this country who went to the United States to sue me for defamation. It was the General Overseer of MFM, Dr. Olukoya. He also filed a lawsuit in Calabar, Nigeria, but couldn’t make much progress because I was not in the country and they couldn’t serve me. According to him, he wanted to teach me a lesson.
“Eventually, he pursued the case in the U.S., and we were in court for a long time. At one point, the court raised allegations against him, specifically regarding money allegedly taken from his church in the UK and brought to Nigeria. When he claimed that I had defamed him, the court asked, “How exactly were you defamed? Did you lose any money?”
“Interestingly, he admitted that the number of members in his church had actually increased since the incident. The court then asked him to provide evidence, such as text messages or other communications, showing how many people had expressed feeling offended or upset because of the story written about him. He claimed there were thousands of such messages. The court responded by saying, “Provide the evidence.” This process is what we call discovery.
“However, he failed to comply. As a result, the judge awarded me $7,000 for his refusal to respond to our discovery request. At the time, I was in Abuja and struggling to pay my rent. That money came just in time and helped me pay it.”
Sodiq Yusuf is a trained media practitioner and journalist with considerable years of experience in print, broadcast, and digital journalism. His interests cover a wide range of causes in politics, governance, sports, community development, and good governance.
