Social media personality Blessing Okoro, widely known as Blessing CEO, has confessed that she intentionally claimed to have breast cancer in order to attract financial donations from the public.
She made this known in an interview with social media activist Martins Vincent Otse, popularly called VeryDarkMan, in a video shared on Thursday.
“The pressure was too much. So what did I do? That was where the cancer drama came in. And because of the pressure. I saw this embarrassment coming. I said to myself, What stunt can I pull? What stunts can I pull? Then I pulled out the cancer,” she said.
She was referring to financial pressure from an EFCC-related dispute involving a man identified as Dr Onuoha Okeigwe.
The blessing CEO claimed a medical check-up had revealed a lump in her breast, but the finding was not cancerous.
She admitted to capitalizing on the discovery by telling the public that the lump was cancerous because she wanted financial assistance.
“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.
Recounting how the fundraising got underway, Blessing CEO explained that she first gave the impression she was thinking about selling her personal possessions, such as her car and house, which led people to urge her to share her bank details so they could donate.
She noted that contributions then began arriving from members of the public, who sent varying amounts of money.
According to her, the donations ceased once VeryDarkMan cast doubt on her cancer claims and asked for evidence to back up the fundraising appeal.
“When I saw the video, immediately he (VeryDarkMan) made that video, and 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 takes no pride in what she did.
This latest turn of events reverses the position she held earlier during the controversy, which broke out in March after she revealed she had been diagnosed with breast cancer and was seeking financial help for treatment.
In an April interview with Lagos content creator Egungun, Blessing CEO admitted to receiving N13m in donations but maintained that she owed no one an apology.
She blamed possible miscommunication for the confusion over her diagnosis and said she was still waiting for clarification from her doctors.
The Delta State chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association, however, later distanced itself from a histology report that was circulated alongside her claims, stating that it had originally been issued to a different patient, Deborah Mbara, and not to Blessing CEO.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) subsequently brought her before a court on a six-count charge involving obtaining money by false pretence, forgery, and other alleged offenses tied to the N13m raised from members of the public.
She pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The commission alleged that she used a falsified medical report to solicit donations. The allegations are still to be decided by the court.
The cancer-related case is one of three fraud cases the EFCC has filed against Blessing CEO.
In a separate matter, she was arraigned over an alleged N36m fraud connected to a property transaction. She was granted N10m bail in that case in June.
She is likewise facing trial over an alleged N69.15m fraud tied to a five-year lease of a property in Lekki, Lagos, which the EFCC claims she presented as her own.
In July, the Lagos State Special Offences Court in Ikeja granted her N20m bail in that case.
When the trial continued on October 26, a prosecution witness, Dr. Onuoha Okeigwe, told the court that Blessing CEO allegedly misrepresented herself as the property’s owner before collecting the money.
On October 27, Okeigwe insisted during cross-examination that he had relied on her representations, including WhatsApp conversations and other documents, before making the payment.
He further told the court that he had filed a separate civil suit to recover more than N100m allegedly spent renovating the property.
The criminal case was adjourned to January 12, 2027, so the prosecution could call more 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.
Chronicle NG reported on November 3 that her detention had also coincided with the June death of her nine-year-old son, Bryan.
