Former pastor of the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM), Femi Jimoh, has reportedly died years after becoming the subject of a widely publicised legal and religious controversy over his prolonged detention in connection with an alleged plot to rob the church.
Jimoh’s reported death was announced by UK-based Nigerian blogger Maureen Badejo, who said the former pastor died after experiencing serious health challenges that reportedly followed years of detention and an alleged gunshot injury to his leg.
His death has renewed public interest in the circumstances surrounding his arrest, the prolonged period he spent in custody, his eventual acquittal by a Lagos State High Court and allegations he made against officials associated with MFM during a widely circulated interview in 2024.
Jimoh became known to a wider audience after appearing on Yoruba Gidi TV, where he gave an emotional account of his experience in detention. During the interview, he alleged that he had spent about nine years in custody without trial.
He also recounted what he described as the events that led to his arrest, alleging that his ordeal began after he encountered Michael Gbadamosi, who he identified as the then Chief Security Officer to the founder of MFM, Pastor Daniel Olukoya, at the residence of a traditional medicine practitioner.
Jimoh questioned why Gbadamosi was at the location and said the encounter ultimately preceded his arrest.
“I met Gbadamosi who is the chief security officer to Pastor Olukoya at a native doctor’s house, what did he go there to do?” Jimoh said during the interview.
He alleged that he subsequently found himself in detention and spent about 30 days in a police cell without legal representation.
“He was surprised to see me, and I did not reveal it to any human being. I was arrested and kept in the cell. I was there for 30 days. I didn’t have a lawyer,” he claimed.
Jimoh further alleged that he was restrained and transported under humiliating conditions before being taken to the residence of the MFM founder.
According to his account, he pleaded with Olukoya not to allow him to be taken back to the police station because he claimed he did not understand the offence for which he was being detained.
He said Olukoya allegedly told him that the matter was already with the police and that he should allow them to carry out their work.
Jimoh alleged that he was subsequently returned to detention, where he claimed he was subjected to physical abuse.
He also alleged that he was taken to a location he referred to as a “Theatre,” where he claimed detainees were tortured.
“They took me to Theatre where they tortured people, I was beaten and handcuffed. When they came to the Theatre, one DPO shot me in the leg,” he alleged.
The claim of being shot in the leg became one of the most striking elements of his account of his prolonged detention.
Jimoh further alleged that he and other detainees were held without adequate food before being transferred to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), where he said they spent more than 25 days.
His allegations portrayed a lengthy and deeply distressing period of incarceration before the matter eventually proceeded through the Nigerian criminal justice system.
Jimoh said he was later charged with offences including attempted murder, conspiracy, armed robbery and felony and was remanded in prison.
He also recounted the emotional impact the detention had on his family, saying his mother and sister later sought assistance from Olukoya in an effort to secure his release.
According to Jimoh, his family members were allegedly advised to ask him to plead guilty in court.
He further alleged that his father died after visiting him in prison and witnessing the condition in which he was being held.
“My dad died after he came to visit me in prison and saw my situation. My mother and my sister went to beg Olukoya on my behalf,” he said.
He claimed that his relatives were allegedly told to encourage him to accept responsibility for an offence and plead guilty, with the assurance that steps would subsequently be taken to secure his release.
These claims were made by Jimoh during the 2024 interview and were part of his personal account of the events surrounding his arrest and detention. They were allegations and are not presented as established facts.
The controversy surrounding his case had attracted considerable attention because of the length of his reported detention and the serious nature of the allegations against him.
His eventual acquittal by a Lagos State High Court became a significant development in the long-running matter, although his account of his years in custody continued to generate public discussion.
Jimoh’s reported death has therefore revived questions about what happened during the period of his incarceration, the circumstances surrounding his arrest and the allegations he publicly made after his release.
It has also renewed attention to broader concerns about prolonged pre-trial detention, access to legal representation and the protection of suspects’ rights within Nigeria’s criminal justice system.
Cases involving prolonged detention without trial have historically generated calls for greater judicial oversight and stronger safeguards against unlawful or indefinite incarceration.
Jimoh’s account, regardless of the unresolved controversies surrounding it, has also prompted renewed debate about the experiences of individuals who spend extended periods in custody before their cases are resolved.
Following reports of his death, attention is expected to focus on his family and former associates as further details emerge about the circumstances of his passing.
The reported death also closes another chapter in a case that had remained in the public consciousness for years because of its combination of religious controversy, criminal allegations and questions about due process.
At the centre of the renewed attention is the distinction between allegations made by Jimoh and facts established through judicial proceedings. While he publicly accused individuals of involvement in his ordeal, the available account does not establish those allegations as proven wrongdoing.
His acquittal, however, remains a significant part of the history of the case and has continued to shape public discussion about the circumstances surrounding his detention.
As tributes and reactions emerge, Jimoh is likely to be remembered by those who knew him not only for the controversy that followed his arrest but also for the years he spent trying to clear his name and explain his experience to the public.
His reported passing brings an end to a difficult chapter marked by detention, illness, legal battles and public controversy, while leaving lingering questions about the events that shaped much of his later life.
