Nigerian pastor wey dey push malaria vaccine conspiracy theories

Dressed in im signature closed-neck suit, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome look directly into di camera, come declare say, "no proof dey wey show say vaccines ever work".

Dem don “lie to” evribodi about vaccination, e tok for im sermon broadcast for im church YouTube channel for February.

Known as "Pastor Chris", di sixty-year-old na one of Africa best-known evangelical preachers.

Di BBC don review dozens of im sermons from 2023 and 2024 and find say im dey spread anti-vaccine messages to im followers, specifically targeting di new malaria vaccine ey dem don dey distribute for African countries.

Malaria na big problem for Africa. About 95% of malaria-related deaths happun for di continent in 2022, with children under five wey account for around 80% of di deaths, according to di World Health Organization (WHO).

For di last six months, Pastor Oyakhilome company don also produce at least five 20-minute anti-vaccine documentaries broadcast for church services or di one dem share for im video streaming platform, despite social media companies policies against anti-vaccine content.

Di announcement last year of di rollout of a vaccine against malaria - afta decades of trying - na wetin sabi pipo hail as a major achievement wey fit save tens of thousands of lives.

According to di UN children's agency, Unicef, successful pilot vaccine campaigns since 2019 for Kenya, Ghana and Malawi don cause a 13% drop in di deaths of children of eligible age.

But medical experts dey fear say di influential pastor sermons fit negatively affect vaccine take-up for Africa.

In August last year, im warn for one sermon of "an evil agenda wey dem dey plan."

E come spread a conspiracy theory wey dey popular for di anti-vaccine community - say vaccines na a way of "depopulating di world".

E also falsely say, "malaria no eva be a problem to those wey dey for Africa".

"Spreading false information about vaccines, especially from influential figures like religious leaders, fit contribute to dey keep up myths and misconceptions, wey go further encourage pipo to not want to take di vaccine.

"Dis fit get devastating consequences for public health, particularly for di WHO African region wia vaccine-preventable diseases dey happun frequently," one WHO tok-tok pesin tok.

Pastor Oyakhilome remarks dey included as one of di disinformation trends "to watch" ahead of di malaria vaccine rollout for one WHO-backed report, The Africa Infodemic Response Alliance release in March.

We ask di pastor about im statements against vaccination through im company and church e-mails. We no receive any response.

Im found Christ Embassy church for Nigeria main city, Lagos, in di 1990s and go on to gada hundreds of thousands of followers around di world.

For 2011, dem feature am for Forbes magazine as one of Nigeria richest pastors with an estimated net worth of $30m to $50m (£24m to £40m).

According to di magazine, di pastor different business interests include newspapers, magazines, a local television station, a record label, satellite TV, hotels and extensive real estate.

Im empire, wey e call LoveWorld Inc, don grow well well. E now include a streaming service, a messaging app with over a million downloads on Google app store and a microfinance bank.

Once a week, Pastor Oyakhilome dey preach for di church big camp ground for Asese, along di Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

Wen di BBC visit di church last November, hundreds of pastors from different nationalities fill di auditorium for one annual conference. Flags of dozens of kontries also dey displayed inside.

Im "big online teachings and healing services" get a global attendance of "seven billion pipo", according to di Christ Embassy website - dis dey highly unlikely given say di planet population dey estimated at eight billion.

Winnifred Ikhianosin, 25, na regular pesin for di church. She tell BBC say she refuse to take vaccines.

"Di man of God don tell us," she tok. "And mesef don also do my research."

According to Ada Umenwaliri, associate director of di African Studies Centre for US-based University of North Carolina, Pastor Oyakhilome get a "stronghold on im followers wey dey look up to am".

"Pastors and religious leaders go always play a significant role in di choices dia followers dey make," she add.

But poverty and di lack of health infrastructure for Africa fit make churches to get a greater hold over pipo wen e come to vaccination, she tok.

For one article wey dem publish for di Nigerian news site, The Cable, last year, writer Julius Ogunro, wey bin attend di pastor church for over a decade, say: "We need to sound di alarm now. Di agenda [dat] Pastor Chris dey push dey potentially dangerous and e get nothing to do with di Christian faith."

One name dey repeated frequently by Pastor Oyakhilome: Bill Gates. Di billionaire na one of di malaria vaccine biggest backers, but e also don be subject of vaccination conspiracy theories for years.

For one sermon in August 2023, di pastor broadcast a clip from a TED talk wey Bill Gates giv in 2010 as an example of "those wey get an agenda to depopulate di world".

While e dey give a tok on reducing carbon dioxide emissions, Mr Gates say: "First, we get di population. Di world today get 6.8 billion pipo. Dat one don head up to about nine billion. Now, if we do a really great job on new vaccines, health care, reproductive health services, we fit lower dat by, perhaps, 10 or 15%."

Pastor Oyakhilome take dis im declaration out of context as Mr Gates dey advocate for world depopulation.

Im bin don clarify in di past say im see population growth and health improvement as tins wey dey complementary: "Wen health improve, families dey choose to have less kids."

Mr Oyakhilome also tok say di World Mosquito Program facility for Colombia belong to di Gates Foundation, and accuse dem say dem dey produce genetically modified mosquitoes as a strategy for depopulation.

Di mosquito factory, wey dey established to reduce di ability of mosquitoes to transmit viruses, belong to a non-profit group of companies owned by Monash University for Australia, and dem don stress say dia method no involve di use of genetically modified organisms.

Pastor Oyakhilome no be stranger to anti-vaccine disinformation. Recently, e don also target di human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, wey dey intended to protect women against cervical cancer.

"Dem get sometin else up dia sleeve. No be about cancer," e tok during one service dem air on 2 September 2023.

Nigeria begin di mass vaccination campaign for girls in October 2023 in a bid to drastically reduce cervical cancer rates.

Di disease dey claim di lives of over 8,000 women in Nigeria evri year. In 2021, a major study wey dey funded by Cancer Research UK find say di HPV vaccine dey cut cases of cervical cancer by nearly 90%.

In di past, Pastor Oyakhilome don make multiple unfounded claims about anti-tetanus injections, polio vaccines, and oda childhood immunizations.

Di pastor also falsely state say di messenger RNA vaccine dey change DNA.

But di vaccine no dey alter pipo DNA. E go take part of a virus genetic material - or messenger RNA - to make di immune system learn to recognise am and produce antibodies.

During di Covid pandemic, Pastor Oyakhilome church receive a £125,000 ($155,000) fine from British media regulator Ofcom.

Dem say im network Loveworld, wey dey broadcast for di UK, show "misleading and potentially harmful statements about di coronavirus pandemic and vaccines".

Mr Ogunro, di writer wey comot from di church say e dey worried, about di pastor influence.

"Im claims about vaccination dey scare me. We need to find a way to regulate preachers like am."