Defamation: Olukoya warns UK-based activist, Badejo, to respect court judgment

General Overseer of the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM), Pastor Daniel Olukoya, has warned Maureen Badejo, a UK-based campaigner and founder of the GATE (Guardians Against False Teachings) Initiative, to immediately cease making defamatory statements against him or face fresh legal action for contempt of court.

The warning follows allegations that Ms Badejo has resumed publishing claims against Pastor Olukoya despite a subsisting court judgment and injunction issued in his favour in 2021.

Court documents show that Pastor Olukoya and his wife, Mrs Folashade Olukoya, instituted defamation proceedings against Ms Badejo in October 2020 over allegations including dishonesty and sexual misconduct. The activist defended the claims on the basis that they were true, but in April 2021, a UK High Court struck out her defence, ruling that it disclosed no reasonable grounds and amounted to an abuse of the court’s process.

The court subsequently granted summary judgment in favour of Pastor and Mrs Olukoya and issued an injunction restraining Ms Badejo from repeating or republishing the allegations. She was also ordered to publish a summary of the judgment on her social media platforms.

In October 2021, the court assessed damages and ordered Ms Badejo to pay £65,000 to Pastor Olukoya and £35,000 to Mrs Olukoya as compensation.

According to a statement released by Pastor Olukoya’s legal representatives, Ms Badejo has in recent weeks repeated the same allegations covered by the injunction, an action described as a serious breach of the court order. The legal team confirmed that Ms Badejo has now been formally warned that any further repetition of the claims would trigger contempt of court proceedings.

The statement noted that contempt of court carries criminal sanctions, including fines and possible imprisonment, and stressed that the matter now goes beyond reputational concerns to enforcement of the rule of law.

Olukoya, however, said he remains willing for the matter to end peacefully but insists that the High Court judgment must be respected and the injunction obeyed.