Chris Oyakhilome: Nigerian pastor pushing malaria vaccine conspiracy theories

Dressed in his signature closed-neck suit, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome stared directly into the camera, declaring that "there was never a proof that vaccines ever worked".

Everyone had been "lied to" about vaccination, he said in the sermon broadcast on his church's YouTube channel in February.

Known as "Pastor Chris", the sixty-year-old is one of Africa's best-known evangelical preachers.

The BBC has reviewed dozens of his sermons from 2023 and 2024 and found that he has been spreading anti-vaccine messages to his followers, specifically targeting the new malaria vaccine as it is being distributed in African countries.

Malaria is a huge problem in Africa. About 95% of malaria-related deaths occurred on the continent in 2022, with children under five accounting for around 80% of the deaths, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Source: BBC