Pastor Emmanuel Iren of Celebration Church International (CCI) has warned Christians about the dangers of secret pornography use, arguing that the anonymity provided by the internet has created an environment in which immoral behaviour can flourish without the social consequences that might otherwise discourage it.
Iren made the remarks during the morning session of Day Two of the Ownership Conference 2026, held from September 22 to 27 at House of Treasures Ministries in Johannesburg, South Africa. The conference, themed “Vessels Unto Honour,” brought together Christian leaders and believers for teaching, worship and discussions on Christian living.
According to Iren, 50% of churchgoers view pornography at least once every two weeks, a figure he presented as an indication of the extent to which pornography may be affecting people within Christian communities.
According to the video obtained by Religion Journalism Foundation, he urged his audience to consider the possibility that someone sitting beside them in church could be privately struggling with pornography.
However, Pastor Iren did not provide evidence to prove that 50% of church goers watch pornography and no underlying survey or dataset has been independently verified for this report. The figure is therefore presented as Iren’s claim, rather than as an established prevalence rate among Christians.
Iren’s broader argument centred on secrecy. He suggested that the internet has made pornography particularly difficult to confront because individuals can access sexually explicit material privately, often without anyone around them knowing.
To illustrate the point, he asked listeners to imagine a situation in which there was only one screen in the whole of Johannesburg through which people could watch pornography. Such a situation, he argued, would make the behaviour considerably more difficult to pursue because of the visibility and social consequences involved. “There’s something about us; even the struggles we face might not be as difficult to overcome if we know people are watching,” Iren said.
He argued that secrecy can give sinful behaviour additional strength, telling the audience: “What gives sin its strength is not the sin alone, but the secrecy empowering it.”
For Iren, the answer is therefore not merely greater personal discipline but accountability within Christian community. “If you find yourself struggling with accountability, you’re already on a dangerous path, even if you haven’t sinned yet,” he warned, arguing that areas of life deliberately kept in darkness can create conditions in which sin becomes easier to sustain.
Nigerian research shows widespread exposure
While there is no reliable national statistic establishing that half of Nigerian Christians regularly watch pornography, research conducted among Nigerian young people indicates that exposure to sexually explicit material online is significant.
A study of 413 young people in Ibadan North Local Government Area found that 72% had previously stumbled upon pornographic websites. Nearly half of the respondents said they first used the internet between ages 15 and 19. The researchers also found associations between internet use and reported changes in sexual behaviour.
Research among Nigerian university students has produced similar findings. A 2018 study of 250 University of Ibadan undergraduates found that sex videos and nude pictures were among the most commonly encountered forms of cyber pornography, with 78.3% of respondents identifying them as such.
The researchers also found that academic browsing and general internet surfing were among the circumstances through which students encountered pornographic material.
The scale of Nigeria’s digital environment provides an important backdrop to the discussion. Data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) show that Nigeria recorded more than 124 million broadband subscriptions in July 2026, while mobile GSM internet subscriptions stood at more than 157 million.
The NCC also reported more than 1.66 million terabytes of internet data usage during the month.These figures do not measure pornography consumption. They do, however, illustrate the scale of digital access through which Nigerians can privately encounter a wide range of online material.
Within Nigerian Christianity, pornography has increasingly become part of conversations about discipleship, sexual purity, marriage and digital culture.
The Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, in its 2025 plenary communiqué, warned that misuse of smartphones and digital technology can expose young people to pornography, cybercrime and addiction. The bishops called for parental guidance, monitoring and digital literacy as part of the Christian response to the digital environment.
In May 2026, Catholic educators in Nigeria were similarly urged to protect children from harmful online content. Archbishop Michael Francis Crotty, Apostolic Nuncio to Nigeria, specifically identified pornography alongside cyberbullying, sextortion, manipulation and online predators as dangers children can encounter through digital platforms.
Christian organisations have also promoted accountability as a practical response. The Great Commission Movement of Nigeria, for example, encourages Christian men to develop trusted relationships in which sexual struggles can be discussed openly rather than concealed. Its discipleship resources describe community and ongoing accountability as important components of confronting pornography and lust.
Iren’s remarks therefore fit into a broader Christian concern: that churches cannot adequately address private sexual struggles if believers feel unable to speak honestly about them. Iren’s central warning remains that secrecy can make such struggles harder to confront.
“If you find yourself struggling with accountability,” he told the audience, “you’re already on a dangerous path.” His message to Christians was ultimately a call to bring hidden struggles into the light before they become entrenched.