Blessing CEO Admits Faking Cancer Diagnosis to Raise Funds
Social media personality Blessing Okoro, popularly known as Blessing CEO, has admitted that she falsely claimed to have breast cancer to secure financial donations from members of the public.
She made the admission during an interview with social media activist Martins Vincent Otse, also known as VeryDarkMan, in a video shared on Thursday.
Blessing CEO said she resorted to the claim because of financial pressure linked to an ongoing dispute involving a man identified as Dr Onuoha Okeigwe.
According to her, a medical examination had previously detected a lump in her breast, but the result showed that it was not cancerous. She said she deliberately presented the finding as cancer to generate sympathy and attract financial support.
“Honestly, I do not have cancer. The truth is, I had gone for a check-up a few months ago and they found a lump on my breast, but it was not cancerous.
“So I took advantage of that, came to the media, cried for help and said that the lump was cancerous. I played an emotional game. I wanted funds, but I didn’t come out directly to ask for funds,” she said.
She explained that she initially suggested she might sell some of her personal belongings, including her car and house, to raise money. This, she said, prompted people to ask her to provide her bank details so they could contribute.
Donations subsequently came from members of the public, with contributors sending varying amounts.
However, she said the donations dried up after VeryDarkMan publicly challenged her cancer claims and demanded evidence to support them.
“When I saw the video, immediately he (VeryDarkMan) made that video, the donation stopped. The donation paused. So I’m like, what do I do? What do I do? That was where the whole orchestration and resolving and all that stuff came,” she said.
She added that she was not proud of her actions.
The admission reverses her earlier position during the controversy, which began in March when she announced that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer and appealed to the public for financial assistance.
During an April interview with content creator Egungun of Lagos, Blessing CEO disclosed that she had received N13m in donations but maintained that she had no reason to apologise.
At the time, she attributed the controversy surrounding her diagnosis to possible miscommunication and said she was still seeking clarification from her doctors.
The Delta State chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association later disowned a histology report circulated in support of her cancer claims. The association said the report had been issued to another patient, Deborah Mbara, and was not Blessing CEO’s medical record.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission subsequently arraigned her on a six-count charge bordering on obtaining money by false pretence, forgery and other alleged offences involving the N13m donations. She pleaded not guilty.
The EFCC alleged that she used a falsified medical report to solicit money from the public. The allegations are before the court.
The cancer-related case is one of three fraud cases involving Blessing CEO.
In a separate matter, she was arraigned over an alleged N36m fraud connected to a property transaction and was granted N10m bail in June.
She is also facing trial over an alleged N69.15m fraud involving a five-year lease of a property in Lekki, Lagos. The EFCC accused her of presenting the property as her own before collecting the money. The Lagos State Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja granted her N20m bail in July.
During proceedings on October 26, prosecution witness Dr Onuoha Okeigwe told the court that Blessing CEO had allegedly misrepresented herself as the property’s owner before receiving payment.
The criminal case was adjourned until January 12, 2027, for the prosecution to present additional witnesses.
Blessing CEO pleaded not guilty to the charges in the separate fraud cases. She was released from custody in late October after spending months at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre.
By Oluwafemi Shodipe
