Fresh details have emerged surrounding the arrest of UK-based Nigerian blogger, Maureen Badejo, who was allegedly lured to the Interpol office in Lagos before being taken into custody in what sources describe as a coordinated operation involving a cleric, an Interpol-linked contact, and the Nigeria Police Force.
Sources familiar with the matter told Chronicles Reporters that Badejo’s legal ordeal is rooted in a long-standing dispute with the Senior Pastor of Omega Fire Ministries, Apostle Johnson Suleman, whom she had persistently criticised on her YouTube channel before it was taken down several years ago.
According to the sources, Badejo’s YouTube channel was suspended after the platform reportedly received a letter said to have originated from Interpol, in which she was allegedly labelled a “national security threat.” The letter, sources claimed, was based on a petition purportedly written by Apostle Suleman to Interpol. The development significantly curtailed Badejo’s online presence at the time.
In recent months, Badejo was said to have approached a woman alleged to be connected to Interpol, who claimed she could help facilitate the restoration of the suspended YouTube channel. The woman, described as a former associate of Apostle Suleman who later fell out with him, reportedly presented herself as sympathetic to Badejo’s situation and willing to assist.
Sources said the woman advised Badejo to visit her office whenever she was in Nigeria to “resolve the Interpol issue” and subsequently invited her to the Interpol office located at Adekunle, Yaba, Lagos.
Chronicles Reporters gathered that Badejo travelled to Nigeria and honoured the invitation last Wednesday. She was reportedly asked to return on Friday for further engagement. However, upon her return, she was allegedly asked to wait before being transferred to the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), where she was detained.
Badejo’s lawyer, Chief George Ogunjimi, later disclosed that the police were proposing a multi-count charge against his client, bordering on alleged cybercrime.
Ogunjimi explained that Badejo had returned to Nigeria primarily in connection with an appeal court matter scheduled for hearing in Ibadan, Oyo State, on February 16, 2026, before her encounter with law enforcement authorities.
According to the lawyer, 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, clarifying 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 the General Overseer of the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM), Pastor Daniel Olukoya. He said the new petition resulted in her continued detention and subsequent transfer to the FCID detention facility at Alagbon, Lagos.
Despite the unfolding developments, Ogunjimi expressed optimism about the case, stating that the alleged offences are bailable and that the defence team is prepared to challenge the charges.
“We are optimistic. The alleged offences are bailable, and by God’s grace, we will secure her bail on Monday,” he said.
In August 2023, SaharaReporters reported that Badejo rejected an offer by Apostle 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, the 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 basis to restrain Badejo from further publications.
Badejo had previously been summoned in the United Kingdom over defamation allegations, while Nigerians in the diaspora reportedly mobilised funds to support her legal defence.
In December 2023, SaharaReporters also reported that a former MFM pastor, Sunday Bawura Olowoyeye, instituted 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, after sharing grievances with Badejo, who later publicised his allegations.
Badejo has since conducted interviews with several individuals who levelled serious allegations against both clerics—claims that neither Apostle Johnson Suleman nor Pastor Daniel Olukoya has publicly responded to.
Chronicles Reporters will continue to monitor developments in the case as concerns grow over the use of law enforcement agencies in disputes involving freedom of expression and alleged abuse of power.