Cancer Society Condemns Blessing CEO’s Alleged False Diagnosis Claim as Deborah Mbara Dispute Deepens

Cancer Society Condemns Blessing CEO’s Alleged False Diagnosis Claim as Deborah Mbara Dispute Deepens

Nigeria’s cancer advocacy community has entered the growing controversy around social media personality Blessing Okoro, popularly known as Blessing CEO, after the Nigerian Cancer Society publicly condemned what it described as an alleged false cancer diagnosis claim and called for an investigation into suspected donation misconduct. The intervention marks the most serious institutional response yet to a scandal that has moved rapidly from social media outrage to a wider debate about medical ethics, privacy, and accountability in online fundraising. 

In a statement dated April 7 and signed by its National Director of Publicity, Bashir Mohammed Ranccas, the Nigerian Cancer Society said concerns had mounted over the authenticity of Blessing CEO’s appeal for public support. The society said available information suggested that she had solicited financial assistance from Nigerians on the basis of a serious health condition and attracted substantial donations, but that subsequent allegations of possible misrepresentation had raised doubts about the legitimacy of the claim. It described the alleged conduct as unfortunate and unethical and warned that exploiting cancer for personal gain could damage public trust and discourage support for genuine patients. 

The society said cancer cases must be handled with sincerity, compassion, and responsibility, adding that misleading the public on such a sensitive issue could have wider consequences for cancer advocacy, treatment support, and awareness campaigns. It also said it would engage relevant security agencies to investigate the matter and ensure that anyone found culpable is held accountable. The group advised patients and their families to seek guidance and verification from the society when pursuing public fundraising or assistance, saying it has structures for patient support and coordination. 

The controversy began after Blessing CEO announced publicly that she had breast cancer and appealed for donations to support treatment. According to later reports and her own subsequent explanations, she said she first became aware of the condition around the end of January 2026. The backlash intensified because she had earlier spoken of having stage four cancer, a claim that drew sympathy and donations, but later walked that back in an interview, saying the stage description may have been a miscommunication. She also said she had not yet begun chemotherapy and was still awaiting a definitive staging from her oncologist. 

In that interview with content creator Egungun, Blessing CEO said the total amount she received was N13 million, not the much larger figures circulating online. She rejected calls to apologise, saying she had only passed along what she believed doctors told her. She also refused demands to publish her medical records, insisting that her results were private. Her explanations, however, did little to calm public doubts, especially as questions grew over the authenticity of the document circulated online as evidence of her diagnosis. 

The dispute widened sharply after the Delta State branch of the Nigerian Medical Association said the histology report being linked to Blessing CEO was not issued to her. In a statement reported on Tuesday, the association said the report in circulation had been altered from an original result issued on May 9, 2025, by Xinus Medical Diagnostics in Asaba to a different patient, identified as Mbara Deborah, following a referral from a private hospital for a confirmatory breast cancer test. The NMA said the diagnostic facility did not at any time issue a report to Blessing Okoro. 

That medical clarification was followed by a direct public intervention from Deborah Mbara, a breast cancer survivor, who accused Blessing CEO of obtaining and doctoring her medical report for use in the fundraising controversy. In a video published on Tuesday, Mbara said she had met Blessing CEO previously while working as her makeup artist in Asaba and later reached out to support her emotionally after seeing her public claims about cancer. According to Mbara, Blessing CEO asked for a copy of her old result, saying she wanted to compare it with what her own doctor had given her, and Mbara shared it in good faith. 

Mbara said she later discovered that the report had allegedly been altered and used in a way she did not authorise. She described the experience as traumatic and said she had completed chemotherapy only on January 30, making the episode especially painful. She also disputed suggestions that she and Blessing CEO were strangers, saying the influencer had recently come to Asaba to see people close to her as the scandal escalated. Mbara said she was not part of any plan to deceive Nigerians and insisted she had only tried to help someone she believed was genuinely in distress. 

The financial dimension of the case has further complicated matters. While Blessing CEO said she received N13 million, businessman Alafaa Kariboye-Igbo, widely known as Oil Money, said he alone transferred N20 million and demanded a refund through his lawyers. Premium Times reported that his legal representatives argued that the donation had been made on the representation that it was for cancer treatment but was later discovered to be false, misleading, and fraudulent. The dispute has intensified calls for a transparent accounting of how much money was received and on what basis it was solicited.

So far, however, no formal criminal probe has been publicly confirmed. A source within the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission told TheCable Lifestyle that, despite the public anger, the agency had not received a formal petition against Blessing CEO and could not act solely on social media agitation. That leaves the case, for now, in a tense interim stage: the Nigerian Cancer Society is demanding an investigation, the Nigerian Medical Association says the medical report did not belong to Blessing CEO, Deborah Mbara says the document was hers, and donors are demanding answers. The scandal has become a warning about how quickly illness narratives can be weaponised online, and how deeply public trust can be shaken when medical suffering is allegedly turned into a tool for fundraising. 

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