Social media influencer Blessing Okoro, popularly known as Blessing CEO, has admitted fabricating a breast cancer diagnosis to attract public sympathy and raise money from Nigerians.
Gatekeepers News reports that the influencer made the revelation during a recent interview with social media activist VeryDarkMan, where she acknowledged that she never had cancer and staged the fundraising appeal because of financial pressure.
Blessing had announced in March that she was battling breast cancer but came under criticism in April over a fundraising campaign linked to her purported treatment.
She had also claimed to have received N13 million in public donations, dismissing reports that she raised as much as N100 million.
The controversy intensified after businessman Alafaa Kariboye-Igbo claimed he had donated N20 million to her and subsequently demanded a refund.
Blessing later addressed questions surrounding her health, insisting that she did not have stage-four breast cancer.
However, during the interview with VeryDarkMan, she admitted that the cancer claim was fabricated, explaining that she had previously undergone a medical examination that revealed a non-cancerous lump in her breast.
“The pressure was too much, and when the cancer drama came in, because of the pressure, I saw this embarrassment coming, then I said to myself, what stunt can I pull? Then I pull up a cancer stunt,” she said.
“I don’t have cancer. Honestly, I don’t have cancer. But the truth is, I had gone for check up few month ago and they found a lump on my boobs but it was not cancerous.
“So I took advantage of that, came to the media to cry for help and said that it was cancerous. Some people had empathy.”
She further explained that she initially presented herself as someone intending to sell her personal belongings, including her car and house, before eventually making her bank account details available for donations.
According to her, she did not directly solicit financial assistance at the beginning but received encouragement from fans who urged her to accept public contributions.
“I didn’t come out to beg for funds; I am going to be very honest. I played an emotional game. I wanted funds, but I didn’t come out directly to ask. I first of all started by pretending that I wanted to sell my personal belongings, my car, my house, so people had empathy,” she said.
“It was fans who reached out to me and said that if we can do this for an ordinary person not feeling well, why not you as a celebrity. Put out your account number. So that was when I put out my account number.”
Blessing said donations began coming in after she shared her account details but slowed down following a video by VeryDarkMan questioning the authenticity of her cancer diagnosis and demanding evidence.
“Donations were rolling in. I was honoured until VeryDarkMan came and said, ‘Ah, people cannot be donating money for Blessing when there is no evidence.’ Immediately, he made that video; donations paused.
“So, I was like, oh, what do I do? That was when the whole orchestration, results and all that came up. I am not proud of what I did. I was able to raise ₦30 million for the whole cancer drama.”
Her admission has reignited controversy surrounding the fundraising campaign, particularly questions about the amount collected, the circumstances surrounding the donations and the potential implications of soliciting public funds through a fabricated medical diagnosis.
