From table salt to the Vatican: Unpacking popular Nigerian pastor Chris Oyakhilome's new viral health claims
Chris Oyakhilome is a Nigerian megachurch pastor with a global audience. While he preaches the gospel, he is also vocal about health matters, including vaccines.
In 2020, the UK media regulator Ofcom sanctioned a TV channel he founded for airing false claims that linked 5G to Covid-19. And in an April 2024 sermon on his YouTube channel, Oyakhilome falsely claimed that a new malaria vaccine approved in Nigeria did not work.
His more recent sermons include even more surprising claims - from speculation about what caused Pope Francis's death to giving health advice about salt and fluoride. We looked into these claims, and found serious problems with the evidence behind them.
Note: We contacted the pastor's media team for evidence supporting these claims and will update this report with their response.
In a May 2025 sermon, Oyakhilome told his congregation they should eat more salt, not less, going against common health advice. He also claimed that hospitals secretly treated patients with salt under different names.
Salts are minerals, many of which are essential for the human body, such as sodium, potassium and magnesium. Table salt, or sodium chloride, helps control the balance of fluids and supports muscle and nerve function.
But while some salt is necessary, too much can raise blood pressure, increasing the risk of heart disease and stroke, two of the leading causes of death worldwide.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says adults should eat less than five grams (about one teaspoon) of salt a day, but most people eat far more. High salt consumption is linked to about 1.89 million deaths globally each year.
According to the WHO's 2023 Global Report on Hypertension, about 19.1 million Nigerians aged 30 to 79 - or 36.1% - have high blood pressure. In March 2025, the health ministry released new guidelines to raise awareness and improve access to low-sodium foods.
Responding to the pastor's claim, ministry spokesperson Alaba Balogun said: "Salt is not the enemy." He added that excessive consumption was the issue.
Do hospitals secretly treat people with salt?
The pastor supported his advice to eat more salt using Bible verses and by claiming that hospitals treated patients with salt "in different forms".
Hospitals do use saltwater, but not as a replacement for medicine. When giving medicine intravenously (injecting into a patient's veins), they often mix it with water and salts such as sodium and potassium, to maintain the normal balance of these minerals in the blood.
However, this does not mean people should eat more salt. Most health organisations recommend eating less salt, not more.
Balogun said that having sodium in medicine is not the same as eating salt, and that it "is safe when prescribed appropriately". He also said that Nigerian health professionals were well-trained and followed evidence-based care.
Oyakhilome's claim that people need more salt and that hospitals secretly give it to patients is misleading. - Catherine Adeniyi
In another sermon, Oyakhilome warned against consuming fluoride, claiming that it was "one of the main causes of cancer" and questioned why it was added to toothpaste, milk and medicine, "even in small amounts".
While he initially said that added fluoride was not intended to kill people, he claimed that it caused diseases like cancer, and was intentionally used to "bring the world population down".
Fluoride is a natural mineral found in water and many foods. It is added to toothpaste and to public drinking water in many countries because it helps prevent tooth decay and promotes oral health.
However, too much fluoride can be harmful. The WHO says high levels can cause nausea, vomiting and breathing problems like asthma, among other side effects. In children, it can discolour teeth.
The WHO says people usually get too much fluoride when:
- They drink groundwater with naturally high fluoride levels.
- They live in hot climates and drink more water.
- They use high-fluoride water to cook or grow food.
There isn't enough evidence to support Oyakhilome's claim that fluoride causes cancer.
Cancer happens when cells grow uncontrollably and form tumours, which can spread to other parts of the body. There are over 200 types of cancer, but Oyakhilome didn't specify the kind.
His concern may have come from early studies in rats that linked fluoride to a rare type of bone cancer, because the mineral builds up in growing bones. But later research, including a 2011 review by the European Commission's Scientific Committee on Health and Environmental Risks, found no link. According to the committee, fluoride should not be seen as a cancer-causing substance.
Other studies in humans also found no evidence that fluoride causes cancer.
While it doesn't cause cancer, there is evidence that fluoride can be harmful in large amounts. The WHO says that both too little and too much fluoride intake are "a major public health concern". - Catherine Adeniyi
Fluoride and intelligence
Some researchers are concerned that high fluoride levels might affect children's brain development. A major 2024 review of studies by the US National Toxicology Program found a link between high levels of fluoride in water and lower intelligence quotient, or IQ, scores in children. (IQ tests try to measure certain types of intelligence, though they are not perfect.)
But experts say the science is not settled yet and warn that more research is needed to determine whether fluoride causes lower IQ. What is known is that small amounts of fluoride in water, about 0.7 milligrams per litre, is beneficial for dental health.
In Nigeria, a 2009 national study found that most water sources had 0.3 milligrams or less - too low to protect teeth. But in a few places, groundwater had naturally higher fluoride levels than recommended. We couldn't find more recent national data.
In the same sermon, Oyakhilome claimed: "Sodium Fluoride [is] a major ingredient in rat poison. Rat poison kills people too ... If it kills rats, it kills human beings."
He added that "they give it to you in small quantities, knowing that after a while you will surely die. That's what they want".
This is a common myth: that sodium fluoride must be harmful because it's in rat poison. But it has been debunked many times, both by fact-checking organisations and scientists, including researchers at McGill University's Office for Science and Society in Canada.
The myth relies on a kernel of truth: sodium fluoroacetate, a highly toxic white powder used to kill rodents, contains fluoride.
McGill researchers explained that "toxicity is always a question of dose", and the amount of fluoride in water and similar sources is tiny compared to what is used in rat poison.
They said that a rat would need to drink about a 100 litres of fluoridated water at once to get a deadly dose.
Both the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Dental Association say that low levels of sodium fluoride are safe. - Catherine Adeniyi
While leading prayers for the Catholic church after the pope's death in April 2025, Oyakhilome claimed that the pontiff "died as a result of the vaccine", which he said was "specially packaged just for him".
But Pope Francis received his first Covid-19 shot in January 2021, and encouraged others to follow suit.
The pontiff had long-term lung problems and had part of a lung removed when he was young. In February 2025, he was hospitalised with a lung infection that led to double pneumonia, a serious condition where both lungs fill with fluid.
At 88 years old, with a history of lung issues, his body struggled to properly recover, according to Vatican reports. He died on 21 April after suffering a stroke and heart failure.
Oyakhilome's claim that the pope passed away due to complications from the Covid vaccine is not supported by what is publicly known. - Catherine Adeniyi
In the same sermon, Oyakhilome claimed that vaccines don't work. But there is a great deal of evidence showing that vaccines are safe and effective.
Vaccines help the body fight off harmful germs by teaching the immune system to recognise and fight them, usually by exposing it to a weakened or inactive part of the virus or bacteria without making you sick.
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Africa Check spoke to professor of public health Adekunle Salaudeen at the University of Ilorin. He explained that vaccines are carefully tested in different stages before being given to the public. He said that statistical data from around the world shows how effective vaccines are.
"Since the advent of the measles vaccine, for example, you may wish to ask yourself what the [infection and death] rates are compared with the pre-vaccination era."
Since the measles vaccine was introduced, infections and deaths have dropped sharply compared to before the vaccine existed.
The same can be seen with many other diseases. The main types of polio have been eliminated in Africa, mostly because of large vaccination campaigns.
A 2024 analysis by the Lancet journal estimated that vaccines have saved 154 million lives over the past 50 years - 101 million of them infants.
In Africa, 52% of the drop in child deaths during this time is linked directly to vaccines. The WHO says vaccines have done more than anything else to prevent deadly infections.
In Nigeria, child vaccination rates have improved, rising from 12% fully vaccinated in 2003 to 76% in 2021. About 2 million children still remain unvaccinated. - Motunrayo Joel
Oyakhilome also claimed that vaccines stayed in the body forever and couldn't be removed. This is incorrect, health experts say.
"Vaccines are cleared from your body in mere days or weeks," said Dr Ahmed Rufai, the director of disease control and immunisation at Nigeria's National Primary Health Care Development Agency. The agency aims to increase vaccination coverage and provide access to quality healthcare.
Rufai explained that once the body's immune system started to respond, the vaccine was quickly broken down and cleared. "It is just like saying when you take paracetamol, it remains in your body for life [- it doesn't]."
While the immune reaction from a vaccine can last for years, there is no evidence that the vaccine itself stays in the body over time. - Motunrayo Joel
