Popular Blogger Arrested After Petitions Allegedly Linked to Apostle Suleman, Pastor Olukoya

Fresh details emerge on how UK-based critic Maureen Badejo was invited to Interpol office, detained by police
Fresh details have emerged surrounding the arrest of UK-based Nigerian blogger, Maureen Badejo, following petitions allegedly written by Senior Pastor of Omega Fire Ministries, Apostle Johnson Suleman, and General Overseer of the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM), Pastor Daniel Olukoya.

Sources familiar with the matter disclosed that Badejo was allegedly lured to the Interpol office in Lagos before being transferred to police custody in what they described as a coordinated process involving an Interpol-linked contact and operatives of the Nigeria Police Force.
Badejo’s legal troubles are said to stem from a long-running dispute with Apostle Suleman, whom she had repeatedly criticised on her YouTube channel several years ago. The channel was eventually taken down after YouTube reportedly received a letter purportedly issued by Interpol, branding Badejo a “national security threat.” Sources claim the letter was based on a petition allegedly written by Suleman.

The takedown significantly limited Badejo’s online activities at the time.
In recent months, Badejo reportedly contacted a woman said to be connected to Interpol, who claimed she could assist in restoring the suspended YouTube channel.

The woman, described as a former associate of Apostle Suleman who later fell out with him, allegedly presented herself as sympathetic to Badejo’s situation.

According to sources, the woman invited Badejo to visit the Interpol office at Adekunle, Yaba, Lagos, whenever she was in Nigeria, to help “resolve the Interpol issue.”

Badejo reportedly arrived in Nigeria and honoured the invitation last Wednesday. She was asked to return on Friday, but upon doing so, she was allegedly made to wait before being transferred to the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), where she was detained.

Her lawyer, Chief George Ogunjimi, confirmed the arrest and disclosed that the police are proposing multiple charges against his client, bordering on alleged cybercrime.

Ogunjimi explained that Badejo had returned to Nigeria to attend an appeal court hearing scheduled for February 16, 2026, in Ibadan, Oyo State, before her encounter with law enforcement officials.

According to him, Badejo was arrested and interrogated by operatives of the police Cybercrime Unit at the Adekunle Police Station, Yaba, following a petition allegedly written by Apostle Suleman.
He dismissed claims circulating on social media that Badejo was abducted, stressing that she honoured the police invitation voluntarily.

“She was not picked up or abducted. She went to the police station personally in response to the invitation,” Ogunjimi said.

The lawyer further revealed that while Badejo was still in police custody, a second petition allegedly surfaced, this time from Pastor Daniel Olukoya. He said the new petition led to her continued detention and subsequent transfer to the Alagbon detention facility in Lagos.

Despite the development, Ogunjimi expressed confidence in the case, noting that the alleged offences are bailable.
“We are optimistic. The alleged offences are bailable, and by God’s grace, we will secure her bail on Monday,” he said.

The arrest adds another layer to Badejo’s long-running legal battles involving Apostle Suleman. In August 2023, it was reported that Badejo rejected an offer by Suleman to pay £500 monthly towards a £19,601 judgment sum awarded against him by the Queen’s Bench Division of the UK High Court of Justice.

Earlier, in March 2022, a UK court dismissed Suleman’s defamation suit against Badejo and ordered him to pay £19,601 in costs. The ruling, delivered by His Honour Judge Lewis, found no legal basis to restrain Badejo from further publications.

Badejo had previously faced defamation proceedings in the UK, with Nigerians in the diaspora reportedly raising funds to support her legal defence.

In a related development, a former MFM pastor, Sunday Bawura Olowoyeye, in December 2023 filed a ₦1 billion lawsuit against Pastor Olukoya over alleged illegal and oppressive detention. Olowoyeye claimed he was detained for 16 days at the FCID, Alagbon, Lagos, after sharing grievances with Badejo, who later publicised his allegations.

Badejo has since interviewed several individuals who made serious allegations against both clerics—claims that neither Apostle Suleman nor Pastor Olukoya has publicly responded to.