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Bishop TD Jakes sues Pastor Youngblood over sexual abuse allegations days after medical attack

US televangelist, Bishop T.D. Jakes has filed a defamation lawsuit Monday against a fellow minister, Duane Youngblood, who has accused him of attempted sexual assault.
The suit was filed after Jakes on Sunday suffered a medical attack at his Dallas megachurch.
Duane Youngblood, 57, a Pennsylvania man who Jakes’ suit notes is on parole after felony convictions for sexual assault and corruption of minors, made the allegations in two recent appearances on the “Larry Reid Live” YouTube talk show. “The Abused Become the Abuser” episodes. Youngblood’s claims went viral.
The suit says a lawyer claiming to represent Youngblood sent Jakes a Nov. 15 letter demanding $6 million from Jakes after the episodes aired.
The suit, which includes denials by Jakes’ legal team of Youngblood’s accusations that Jakes tried to groom and sexually abuse him, was filed the day after Jakes was viewed at his Sunday service having an unspecified medical problem.
In the midst of a prayer after preaching at The Potter’s House, Jakes is seen lowering his mic and shaking in the chair where he was seated. About a dozen people ran to his side and congregants stretched out their hands toward him as they began praying for him.
On Wednesday, a video of Jakes appearing to be departing a Dallas medical facility, was posted on social media accounts of The Potter’s House with a statement from him about his plans to rest after an episode that “could’ve been fatal if it weren’t for God’s intervention.”
“Didn’t have to turn out this way. Just grateful. Not afraid to die. Don’t want to hurt my kids and the people who love me, the church who needs me, the world who called me, the God who sent me,” Jakes said in the video.
The legal team for Jakes, 67, an author, evangelist and business executive, told the New York Post earlier that he is recuperating from the weekend medical incident and continuing to undergo testing after experts determined he did not have a stroke.
“At the conclusion of yesterday’s service, after ministering for nearly an hour and a half, Bishop Jakes experienced a moment that brought him face-to-face with his own humanity,” the team said.
“He is doing well and remains under medical supervision. Medical professionals have ruled out a stroke, but continue testing.”
In the Oct. 28 YouTube interview, Youngblood described himself as someone who was recently released from prison after violating his parole and as a person who was abused by other ministers. He alleged that as a teenager he ended a long discussion with Jakes in a private home after Jakes had preached at the church of the homeowner.
“When I started to walk past him, he pulled me to himself, wrapped his arms around me, and tried to kiss me,” Youngblood alleged on the show and was quoted in the lawsuit.
Youngblood claimed Jakes called him the next day, from a bathtub, with a three-point plan.
“He says to me, without any hesitation, ‘There’s three things I need you to do,’” Youngblood alleged on the October show that Jakes told him. “‘The first one is, when I come to Pittsburgh you’re going to be the only person I sleep with. The second one is, you can’t sleep with anybody else because I don’t want to give my wife anything. And thirdly, I will take care of you the rest of your life.’”
Jakes’ lawsuit denies all Youngblood’s accusations and makes a direct link between Jakes’ medical state and Youngblood’s allegations, which Jakes’ suit calls “false and defamatory” and “as damaging and damning as anyone can make about a prominent pastor and spiritual leader.”
“Youngblood’s intentional and malicious lies have taken a substantial emotional and physical toll on Bishop Jakes,”reads the suit. “On November 24—the day before he filed this action—Bishop Jakes suffered a medical crisis on stage in the middle of his Sunday service in front of his entire church.”
The complaint also argues that Youngblood’s accusations create a setback for those with true abuse claims.
“Bishop Jakes believes with all his heart that actual victims of sexual abuse should be treated with the utmost respect, kindness, empathy, and sympathy—and that true perpetrators of such abuse should be held accountable for their actions,” the suit continues. “But that is not the case here.”
The suit also claims Youngblood changed his story about his age when the alleged events occurred, saying in the demand letter that he might have been 17 when on the show he suggested his age would have been 18 or 19.
And the suit describes Youngblood reiterating on a Nov. 3 interview with Reid some allegations he stated days before in the first interview, including that, when he allegedly confronted Jakes years later and asked Jakes the reason for the alleged abuse, “Bishop Jakes told me the reason he did this and said this to me was because his stock was rising and he would have slept with anybody.”
Jakes also has been the subject of allegations of sexual misconduct, including at parties hosted by hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, which have put Jakes in headlines.
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Criminal charges: Lawyers ready to defend Natasha with ‘factual evidence ‘

The legal team of suspended Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, say they are ready with factil evidence to defend her in court.
The team received a formal summons in the case filed against her by the Federal Government at the Federal Capital Territory High Court last week.
On Friday, May 16, 2025, the Federal Government filed the suit, marked CR/297/25, over alleged defamatory remarks made during a live appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on April 3, 2025.
The government accused the senator of “making imputation knowing or having reason to believe that such imputation will harm the reputation of a person”, citing Section 391 of the Penal Code, cap 89, Laws of the Federation, 1990.
Among the witnesses listed to testify during the trial were Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and a former governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello.
Others include Asuquo Ekpenyong, a senator; Sandra Duru; Maya Iliya, investigating police officers; and Abdulhafiz Garba, investigating police officers.
However, in a statement issued Friday night by Dr. Ehiogie West-Idahosa (SAN) on behalf of the legal team, Akpoti-Uduaghan’s lawyers confirmed receipt of the formal summons and pledged to prepare all “factual and statutory defences” available to the lawmaker during trial.
“At about 2:30pm on Friday, May 23, 2025, within the premises of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja, we received the information filed by the Director of Public Prosecutions, containing three counts alleging that our client, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan of Kogi Central, made imputations she had reason to believe would harm the reputation of Senator Godswill Akpabio, President of the 10th Senate,” the statement read.
“We received the said information on her behalf through a letter of authority duly issued and filed in the court’s registry.
“The legal team will fully prepare and present all factual and statutory defences available to our client during the trial.”
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FCTA begins take over of PDP hqtrs, 4,793 other properties over unpaid ground rent

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) will on Tuesday next week begin the take over of 4,794 properties in Abuja, including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) headquarters, due to unpaid ground rent.
The PDP headquarters, currently under construction in Abuja’s Central Business District, is among the affected properties, having been revoked in March for several years of unpaid ground rent. The FCTA disclosed that 4,794 titles had been revoked for failure to pay ground rent, with some defaults dating back 43 years.
The affected properties are located in various districts, including Central Area, Garki I and II, Wuse I and II, Asokoro, Maitama, and Guzape.
The defaulters owe over N6.96 billion in ground rent. The FCTA had given a 21-day grace period for owners with debts under 10 years, which has now expired.
The FCTA officials announced that the takeover would begin on Monday, May 26, 2025, with the sealing off and restriction of access to the affected properties.
The Director of Land Administration, Chijioke Nwankwoeze emphasized that the revocations were carried out under Section 28(5)(a)(b) of the Land Use Act, which empowers the government to reclaim land when the terms of occupancy are violated.
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Plane crash-lands, two injured

Two people sustained serious injuries when a training aircraft crash-landed at the Ilorin International Airport on Friday.
Director of Public Affairs and Family Assistance, NSIB, Mrs Bimbo Oladeji, who disclosed this in a statement, said the incident occurred at 17:28 local time on May 23, 2025, during a simulated instrument approach on Runway 05 at Ilorin International Airport.
Oladeji said the aircraft veered off the runway and came to a stop on the grass verge, leaving the two occupants on board injured.
She stated: “Both sustained serious injuries and were swiftly evacuated to a medical facility, coordinated by the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA.
“In response, the NSIB Go-Team is currently preparing to depart from Abuja to Ilorin to conduct on-site investigations. The team will secure the site, collect physical evidence, interview witnesses, and retrieve operational data to establish the cause and contributing factors of the incident.”
Quoting the Director General of the NSIB, Captain Alex Badeh Jr., she said “Our thoughts are with the injured, and we commend the swift medical and emergency response. Now, our focus is on understanding exactly what went wrong. Every investigation is an opportunity to improve safety. We are deploying our team to Ilorin to ensure that no detail is overlooked.”
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