Tonto Dikeh opens up on life in emotional church testimony

Nollywood actress, singer and philanthropist Tonto Dikeh has spoken candidly about a deeply personal chapter of her life, recounting years of addiction, emotional struggles and spiritual confusion before what she described as divine intervention that changed her life.

The 40-year-old made the revelations during a church testimony at Streams of Joy International in Abuja on Sunday, where she traced the roots of her challenges to her early childhood and reflected on her path to recovery and renewed faith.

Addressing the congregation, Dikeh said her testimony centred first on her salvation, explaining that many of the destructive habits that defined her adult life were formed at a very young age.

She described living for decades with what she termed “demonic anger,” admitting that she did not understand or experience peace until recently.

According to her, the transformation she now feels is the result of a deliberate commitment to God, which she believes brought lasting change.

The actress revealed that she began smoking at the age of 13, a habit she said lasted 27 years and was influenced by her upbringing, noting that her father was also a smoker.

She used her experience to caution parents about the impact their actions can have on their children, stressing that behaviours observed early in life can follow children into adulthood.

Dikeh also disclosed her long struggle with alcohol addiction, explaining that she frequently drank large bottles of vodka alone at home until she passed out.

She said the habit made her withdraw socially and normalised destructive behaviour. According to her testimony, she prayed consistently for deliverance, adding that a growing sense of shame about smoking eventually led to what she described as spiritual revival and freedom from addiction.

She told the church that the urge to smoke had completely disappeared and that her body no longer craved it.

Going further, the outspoken actress said she was also delivered from masturbation and healed from chronic back pain that had troubled her for about 20 years.

She attributed the healing to divine intervention, stating that the pain had stopped entirely.

Reflecting on her past spiritual life, Dikeh admitted she had previously participated in rituals and worshipped at altars she now believes were not meant for her, but said she has since gained clarity about her faith and identity.

In one of the most emotional parts of her testimony, Dikeh spoke about recurring sexual encounters in dreams, which she said dated back to her childhood and formed some of her earliest memories.

She explained that after attending a religious conference in Ghana, what she described as a “spiritual husband” disappeared, marking, in her words, a turning point that freed her to live and date normally.

She described herself as a prodigal child who had found her way back to God.

Tonto Dikeh rose to national fame in the late 2000s after winning the reality television show The Next Movie Star, which launched her acting career. She went on to become one of Nollywood’s most recognisable faces in the 2010s, starring in popular films such as Divine Grace (2007), Dirty Secret (2010) and Night Wedding (2010).

Beyond acting, she has ventured into music, brand influencing and humanitarian work through the Tonto Dikeh Foundation.