The ongoing legal and media battle surrounding Mountain of Fire and Miracles persecution claims has taken a dramatic turn, as critics accuse a former member, Funke Ashekun, of fabricating a narrative to secure a new life abroad. For more than five years, Funke Ashekun presented herself online as a victim of severe religious persecution.
Now, emerging details suggest these elaborate stories were part of a coordinated strategy to secure an asylum application in the United States for her family of six. The strategy has backfired in public, however, following a major US Appeal Court judgment linked to a bitter dispute involving Dr D.K Olukoya defamation allegations.
On her different social media platforms she has painted various emotional narratives of fear, oppression and intimidation she said she suffered together with her family when she was in Nigeria and as a member of MFM church. Funke for more than five years dedicated her page to constant accusations and inflammatory statements about her former General Overseer Dr DK Olukoya with the intention to provoke outrage.
However, independent observers and legal analysts state that the digital campaign lacked substantive backing. Sadly all these stories were cooked up in order to secure Asylum in the United States having presented herself as one fleeing danger because of religious persecution . Critics who questioned the credibility of her story said she hasn’t been able to provide any credible evidence to support the various dramatic claims she has made for years rather the US Appeal Court ordered her to Pay $300,000 law suit filed against her for continuous defamation and online propaganda which unfortunately she has been making in her bid to build asylum narrative rather than presenting objective truth.
The US Appeal Court Judgment and the Asylum Narrative
The financial penalty has cast a long shadow over her digital ministry and podcasting activities. It is now beginning to dawn on so many who have been following her carefully crafted narratives on her podcast for years that one of the many reasons she has remained relentless in her efforts in backing out from her continuous claims of persecution is because of the asylum she has been seeking from the US Government. To maintain the validity of her immigration claims, she allegedly had to keep the narrative alive at all costs.
According to emerging reports, the efforts to sustain this campaign extended to the incentivisation of other former congregants. Funke Ashekun till date continues to recruit and pay different EX Members of MFM church to tell lies against Dr Olukoya as obtained in an audio recording which recently leaked online and connected to her.
Allegations of Betrayal in the Church
The sudden hostility has left the leadership and the wider congregation of the ministry deeply shocked. Members of MFM continue to wonder how one who Dr Olukoya financed her wedding, provided free accommodation for several years with her family, gave two cars ( she and husband), placed children on scholarship, got privileged salary and also carted away from the church over N3million would suddenly become filled with hatred and vendetta while many till date keep wondering why Funke never presented evidence of physical threats , no legal complaint, no verifiable documents beyond social media post and emotional commentary.
The case of Funke’s shocking betrayal in biting the fingers that once fed her has become one of the biggest stories in history of Christendom. Observers note that the outcome of her pending Funke Ashekun asylum process remains highly uncertain given the recent US Appeal Court judgment.
As the community processes these revelations, the contrast between the public claims of Mountain of Fire and Miracles persecution and the financial reality of the court order continues to spark intense debate online.
