BREAKING: UK-Based Blogger Maureen Badejo Granted N10Million Bail By Lagos Court Over Petitions From Clerics Apostle Suleman, Olukoya

Badejo was granted bail in the sum of ₦10 million, with a surety acceptable to the court, pending further proceedings. Her legal team, led by Yinka Owoeye and comprising four other lawyers, oversaw the proceedings.

A Lagos State magistrate's court has granted bail to UK-based Nigerian blogger Maureen Badejo, who was recently detained by the Nigerian police following petitions reportedly filed by Apostle Johnson Suleman of Omega Fire Ministries and Pastor Daniel Olukoya of the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM), SaharaReporters has learned.

Badejo was granted bail in the sum of ₦10 million, with a surety acceptable to the court, pending further proceedings. Her legal team, led by Yinka Owoeye and comprising four other lawyers, oversaw the proceedings.

The arraignment, however, was marked by controversy after police allegedly misled Badejo’s lawyers about the court where she would be produced.

Sources told SaharaReporters that her legal team was informed that she would appear at the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos. In reality, she was taken to the Igbosere Magistrate’s Court, leaving her lawyers stranded at the wrong venue.

“How do you give lawyers the wrong court to go to?” a source asked. “They left the police station believing she was being taken to Ikoyi, but she was diverted to Igbosere, seemingly to ensure the defence was not fully present.”

Despite the confusion, Badejo was arraigned and granted bail, with the court directing that she meet the ₦10 million bond and provide a surety before release.

The incident has reignited concerns over alleged abuse of process within Nigeria’s criminal justice system, with critics describing it as another example of practices that undermine due process.

Badejo’s legal troubles stem from a long-running dispute with Apostle Suleman, whom she had repeatedly criticised on her YouTube channel before it was removed several years ago.

SaharaReporters previously reported that Badejo was arrested in Lagos by detectives attached to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) following petitions reportedly filed by senior Christian clerics. She was interrogated at the police Cybercrime Unit in Adekunle, Yaba, Lagos, following her arraignment.

While the exact allegations remain unclear, sources indicate that the matter relates to online publications and social media activities allegedly linked to the blogger.

The legal dispute also has a UK dimension. In March 2022, the Queen’s Bench Division of the UK High Court of Justice ordered Apostle Suleman to pay Badejo £19,601 in sanctions related to a defamation suit he had filed against her. Badejo had rejected Suleman’s subsequent offer to pay £500 monthly toward the judgment.

Supporters in the diaspora reportedly raised legal funds to assist Badejo in defending herself.

The controversy mirrors earlier allegations against Pastor Olukoya. In December 2023, a former MFM pastor, Sunday Bawura Olowoyeye, filed a ₦1 billion suit against Olukoya, claiming illegal detention and threats to his life.

Olowoyeye alleged that he was detained for 16 days at the Federal CID in Alagbon, Lagos, allegedly on orders from Olukoya, after sharing grievances with Badejo, who publicised his plight.

Badejo has also interviewed several individuals with serious allegations against both clerics, none of which have been publicly addressed or defended.