Fake Prophet Gets One Year for Cheating Church Members of N136m

A high court in Enugu State has found a man, Godwin Ajuluchukwucheya, guilty and sentenced him to one year in prison. He was convicted for cheating his church members out of N136.4 million.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC) handled the case, as stated by the commission’s spokesman, Dele Oyewale, on Friday.

According to Mr Oyewale, Ajuluchukwucheya, who is also called Prophet Sunday Koboko, faced two charges of obtaining money under false pretenses and stealing N136.4 million.

He was sentenced after appearing before Justice H. O. Eya, though the date of his arraignment was not mentioned.

The first charge claimed that Ajuluchukwucheya intended to defraud church members of N136.4 million. Between 2023 and February 2025 in Enugu, he falsely told them he won N30 billion in a lotto game. He then asked members to contribute money to him to receive dividends from this supposed win.

The prosecution explained that this action is against Section 1 (1) (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006, and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act.

Ajuluchukwucheya admitted to the charges when they were read in court.

Following his guilty plea, EFCC lawyer Rotimi Ajobiewe asked the court to convict and sentence him.

Justice Eya then convicted him and gave a one-year sentence, with an option to pay a N500,000 fine.

The court also ordered that “the convict’s landed property with Customary Certificate of Occupancy, dated 25th July 1989, registered as No. 92 at page 92 in Volume 512 of the Land Registry, Enugu, shall be forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria, through the EFCC, and shall be sold, with the proceeds used to compensate the victims of the offence.”

Mr Oyewale mentioned that the arrest and prosecution of Ajuluchukwucheya started after victims filed complaints. Many church members went to the EFCC office in Enugu to report how they were cheated by the so-called prophet.

The EFCC's investigations showed that Ajuluchukwucheya tricked church members into buying his “products” that promised prosperity.

Mr Oyewale said these products included “miracle stickers,” “spiritual dragons,” and “holy ghost thunder.”

One of the victims, Nkiruka Ngene, said Ajuluchukwucheya portrayed himself as a genuine man of God. He convinced her that he could bring her late husband back to life.

Mrs Ngene added that she was tricked into paying for a scheme where members would gain according to their investments.

She claimed to have paid a total of N6.7 million for this fake scheme and for the resurrection of her husband.

Another victim, Okey Uwakwe, said Ajuluchukwucheya acted as a “true man of God” who could bring back his brother who had been abroad since 1997.

Uwakwe claimed he paid N6.2 million for spiritual services and that Ajuluchukwucheya also misled him into thinking he could help his childless sister-in-law conceive, for which he paid N3.2 million.