EFCC grills ‘prophet’ accused of defrauding church members of N70.3m

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has commenced an investigation into a self-acclaimed prophet, Godwin Sunday Ajuluchukwucheya, popularly known as Prophet Sunday Koboko, over allegations that he defrauded members of his ministry of N70.39m.

The anti-graft agency disclosed this in a statement posted on its official X handle on Wednesday.

According to the EFCC, operatives of its Enugu Zonal Directorate are investigating allegations that the suspect obtained money from church members through various schemes and promises of spiritual interventions and investment opportunities.

One of the petitioners, identified as Okey Uwakwe, alleged that Ajuluchukwucheya collected N6.23m from him for spiritual works aimed at persuading his brother, who had lived abroad since 1997, to return to Nigeria.

The petitioner further alleged that the suspect received N3.25m to perform spiritual works to help his childless sister-in-law conceive after over 15 years without a child.

The EFCC said Uwakwe also claimed that the cleric announced to members of his ministry that he had won N33bn in a lottery and encouraged them to contribute financially with assurances that they would receive dividends from the purported winnings.

According to the commission, the petitioner contributed an additional N3.35m to the scheme and another N500,000 towards a rice-processing business the suspect allegedly claimed was worth N1bn.

The EFCC said the petitioner claimed to have paid a total of N13.33m to the suspect without receiving any benefit.

The commission added that during investigations, several other members of the ministry came forward with similar allegations.

According to the EFCC, some members alleged that the suspect sold items described as “holy ghost thunder”, “miracle stickers” and “spiritual dragons”, promising prosperity and solutions to personal challenges.

“One of the members and victim of the suspect said, “he asked me to do what they tagged holy ghost thunder, believing it was going to solve my problems, I bought it and after all the payments, nothing happened and my problems still persisted,” the EFCC said.

The EFCC said the total amount allegedly collected from members of the ministry stood at N70.39m.

The commission added that investigations were ongoing and that the suspect would be charged to court upon their conclusion.