The Board of Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), has refuted claims making the rounds on some media platforms (Nigerian Tribune), of a fire incident at the Ikotun-Egbe site of the main church premises, where the tomb of the founder of the church, Prophet Temitope Balogun (T.B) Joshua was buried.
Refuting the claim in a release made available to Tribune Online on Wednesday, the Church argued that contrary to the misleading media report, the minor fire outbreak, recorded on Wednesday, 27th April, 2022, was at the Church’s prayer resort at Agodo-Egbe, a different church site, which is over two kilometres away from the Ikotun-Egbe site.
Expressing shock, disappointment and embarrassment at the reports, in the statement signed by Mr James Akhigbe of its legal department, the church wondered why such reports could still be released by those media houses, despite the fact that a Press Statement on the incident was promptly issued by the Church, and made available to media houses.
It, therefore, expressed regrets that ‘a supposedly reputable media house’ could abandon all the known ethics of responsible journalism, in its handling of the issue.
“The supposedly reputable media house abandoned the sacred journalistic principles of truthfulness and accuracy and descended with reckless abandon to the abyss of sensationalism
and junk journalism when it reported, falsely, that the fire outbreak had gutted part of the late Prophet’s tomb.
“Quite unfortunately enough, many other smaller media houses fed from this false reportage and thereby got the public largely misinformed.
“Curiously, the over two kilometres distance between the Agodo prayer resort where the minor fire incident was recorded at one of the general-purpose stores; and the Ikotun-Egbe Headquarter premises of the Church where the tomb is located is too far apart to give room for any form of confusion or mix-up by any careful, genuine and honest reporter who is out to for the truth,” the Church stated.
It, therefore, described the media report as ‘unfortunate’ and deliberate mischief contrived by light-detesting detractors, in conjunction with some disgruntled journalists, to embarrass the church and the memories of its founder.
“The Church is constrained to view the unfortunate media report by the said media house as a deliberate mischief contrived by light-detesting detractors, probably in cahoots with some disgruntled journalists, to advance a narrative pre-designed to embarrass the Church and the memories of our beloved Prophet,” it added.
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