More troubles for popular blogger, Funke Ashekun, as a Court of Appeal, based in Maryland, the United States (US), on Thursday, ordered her to pay the sum of $300,000 to the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministry (MFM) for defamation.
The controversial blogger has been entangled in court cases for cyberbullying and defaming the reputation of MFM and its General Overseer, Dr DK Olukoya.
Recall that MFM, USA Inc, recently secured a resounding judgment against Funke Ashekun for defamation of its reputation and that of Dr Olukoya.
Funke Ashekun had seemed unstoppable in her self-imposed task to pull down the House of MFM, along with its leadership, in the person of Dr Olukoya.
She has been going about painting the church as devilish and portraying the GO as the devil-reincarnate and a pervert who has been manipulating and molesting female members.
As reported by Newscoven.com on 22 March, 2026, the troubled blogger was brought down from her self-deluding high pedestals as a Baltimore, Maryland US County Circuit Court, in am unanimous ruling on 13 March, 2026, ordered her to pay a whopping sum of $300,000 in compensatory damages to MFM USA, Inc and the GO.
To save her head from trouble, and having ran helter skelter, unsuccessfully sourcing for money in order to escape the consequences of her years of defamation, Funke Ashekun filed an appeal against the verdict of the jury, hanging on her head.
However, the Court of Appeal in Maryland, US, rising from its decision on Thursday, May 7th, 2026, rejected her appeal in its totality, dismissed the same, and upheld the decision of the lower court.
The Appellate Court of Maryland, ruling on the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries USA, Inc. v Olufunke Ashekun Appeal, handed down a binding order, dismissing the appeal of Funke Ashekun, pursuant to Maryland Law.
The Appellate Court of Maryland on the 7th of May 2026, in the matter of Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries USA, INC v Olufunke Ashekun, granted the motion by the Appellee, MFM to dismiss the appeal by Funke Ashekun against the lower court judgment
A Reply Memorandum of Law was successfully granted and, as a result, Appellant Ashekun’s appeal was dismissed, pursuant to Maryland Law.
The Maryland, US Court of Appeal further rules that the Appellee’s successful prosecution of claims of Defamation and False Light in Baltimore County Circuit Court on the 13th of March 2026 which resulted in a binding court order against the embattled blogger for compensatory damages will stand.
Reacting to the judgment, MFM USA, INC expressed happiness that the Appellate Court of Maryland recognised that the basis of Olufunke Ashekun’s appeal was without merit.
“This ruling confirms that the underlying judgment in the Circuit Court was sound, proper, and just. Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries USA, INC is pleased that with the appeal dismissed.
“This ruling represents a decisive legal triumph and complete exoneration of Appellee Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries USA, INC, rehabilitating its reputation entirely,” it stated in a statement.
An outspoken individual, Funke Ashekun, the US-based blogger, was a former member of MFM, one of the fastest-growing pentecostal churches in contemporary Nigeria and beyond, with Dr Daniel Olukoya as its General Overseer.
Ever since she fell out with the MFM and its leadership, Funke Ashekun has imposed it upon herself to be the biggest and unrepentant critic and detractor of the church and its leader, Olukoya.
Defamation is a silent, but dangerous landmine with serious legal implications for bloggers and social media commentators. This is particularly when a false statement is presented as fact and it turned out to harm a person’s reputation.
