There was a mild drama in the courtroom as Olufunke Ashekun and her husband collapsed, a day to a court ruling which awarded the US court fines Nigerian blogger $50,000 for defaming MFM overseer https://punchng.com/us-court-fines-nigerian-blogger-50000-for-defaming-mfm-overseer/sum of $300,000 to Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM).
The Baltimore, Maryland County Circuit Court, had, in a ruling on 13 March, 2026, handed the judgment in the matter of MFM USA, INC vs Olufunke Ashekun.
Ashekun, a US-based blogger, a vocal former member of MFM, had alleges that Dr Olukoya, the General Overseer of the church, has been manipulating and molesting female members.
She was subsequently taken out from the court by an emergency 911 Ambulance.
Her husband, in an incident likened to the biblical story of Ananiahs and Saphirah, also suffered the same fate the following day when he came to submit a medical report on behalf of his wife which did not stop the jury from proceeding with their verdict.
The plaintiff successfully prosecuted its claims of defamation and false light against Olufunke Ashekun.
It resulted in a binding court order against the US-blogger for compensatory damages in the sum of $250,000 and punitive damages in the sum of $50,000 immediately awarded to MFM USA, INC.
In granting the judgment and damages, the court recognised the prolonged intense and malicious campaign conducted by Olufunke Ashekun against Dr DK Olukoya and MFM who were seriously concerned by the reach and extent of her destructive rhetoric.
The court, by a unanimous jury decision, ruled that the campaign by Ashekun negatively affected the professional integrity of MFM Olukoya and their reputations as widely publicised by Ashekun.
The judgment by the Baltimore, Maryland County Circuit Court had been described as an overwhelming victory and a complete vindication of MFM.
It has also put intact the reputation of MFM as well as that of its General Overseer, Dr DK Olukoya.
