Prophet accused of stealing N70 million from church members in Enugu

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has started looking into a case of alleged fraud involving N70.3 million by a self-styled prophet, Godwin Ajuluchukwucheya, in Enugu State.

The EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, said on Wednesday that Mr Ajuluchukwucheya, known as Prophet Sunday Koboko, is accused of swindling his church members out of N70.3 million.

Mr Oyewale explained that the arrest and questioning of Mr Ajuluchukwucheya happened after Okey Uwakwe, one of the victims, sent a petition to the agency. The petition claims that Mr Ajuluchukwucheya pretended to be a “true man of God” who could bring back Uwakwe's brother, who has lived abroad since 1997.

Uwakwe also claimed he gave N6.2 million to Mr Ajuluchukwucheya for spiritual work. He said the prophet tricked him into thinking he could help his sister-in-law, who had not been able to have children for more than 15 years. For this, Uwakwe paid an extra N3.2 million.

More allegations

Uwakwe also accused Mr Ajuluchukwucheya of telling his church that he won N33 billion from a lottery. He then asked church members to contribute money to get dividends from this supposed lottery win. Uwakwe ended up giving Mr Ajuluchukwucheya N3.3 million.

“The petitioner also alleged that members of Ajuluchukwucheya’s ministry were also lured by the suspect to contribute to the suspect’s rice processing machine worth N1 billion to become partners in the business.

“He allegedly contributed the sum of N500,000. He claimed that the total sum sent to the suspect was N13,331,600 without results,” the EFCC statement revealed.

Investigation

Mr Oyewale noted that during the investigation, many members of Mr Ajuluchukwucheya’s church started coming to the EFCC office in Enugu to report how they were cheated by the prophet.

“One victim said, 'When I came there (the ministry), a lot of things were happening as investments in the church, which I took part in virtually all of them... like the story of him winning N33 billion with Baba Ijebu (lotto),'” the statement quoted.

The victim added that Mr Ajuluchukwucheya claimed he couldn’t collect the N33 billion because it was too large. He then asked church members for help by buying “holy ghost thunder” to break the spiritual barrier stopping him from getting the money.

The victim said he bought 1,000 pieces of “holy ghost thunder” which Mr Ajuluchukwucheya sold for N38,000 each.

“The total amount members of Ajuluchukwucheya’s church claimed he took from them is N70,391,600,” the EFCC statement said.

Modus operandi

Mr Oyewale explained that the investigations showed that Mr Ajuluchukwucheya’s method involved tricking his church members into purchasing his “products” for success.

The EFCC spokesperson revealed that the so-called prosperity products sold to church members included “miracle stickers,” “spiritual dragons,” and “holy ghost thunder.”

One victim stated, “He asked me to buy what they called holy ghost thunder, believing it would solve my problems. I bought it, and after all the payments, nothing happened and my problems still persisted,” according to the EFCC.

The agency confirmed that Mr Ajuluchukwucheya would face charges once the investigations are complete.