By Casmir Igbokwe
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) appears to have made a big catch in Enugu State. It is investigating a self-styled prophet called Godwin Sunday Ajuluchukwucheya, also known as Prophet Sunday Koboko, for allegedly defrauding worshippers of N70.39 million. The “man of God” reportedly asked them to buy items like “miracle stickers”, “Holy Ghost thunder” and “spiritual dragons” to achieve prosperity. Each of these items costs N38,000.
Holy Ghost thunder was allegedly meant to fight a spiritual army that purportedly blocked Prophet Koboko from accessing his N33 billion which he claimed to have won in a lotto game. Some of his congregants bought as many as 1,000 pieces of this special weapon. To make his members more prosperous, Prophet Koboko was alleged to have lured them to invest in his N1 billion rice processing project.
One man, Okey Uwakwe, turned out to be his nemesis. The prophet was alleged to have collected N6.2 million and N3.2 million from this man. The first payment was for the prophet to help bring his brother, who had travelled abroad since 1997, back home. The second one was to make his sister-in-law, who has been childless for over 15 years, to conceive. The victim, whose petition to the EFCC triggered the investigation, reportedly said he paid a total of N13, 331,600 to Prophet Koboko without results. The EFCC is poised to charge him to court upon conclusion of investigations.
Nigerians were still digesting this information when the Oba of Benin, Omo N’Oba N’Edo, Ewuare II, reportedly summoned native doctors, traditional priests and priestesses to an urgent meeting on Tuesday, June 23, over the worsening insecurity in Edo and the entire country. In a statement signed by Chief Victor Nosakhare on behalf of Benin Traditional Council Secretary, Frank Irabor, last Friday, the palace said the meeting would explore traditional means to complement government efforts in tackling insecurity.
This is typical of what former President Olusegun Obasanjo suggested in the late 1980s as a panacea for ending apartheid in South Africa. He had called for the use of African traditional medicine, or juju, to fight the obnoxious system. Then, he served as the co-chairman of an international Commonwealth group evaluating conditions in South Africa. I’m not sure how far his juju proposal worked.
Nevertheless, one incontrovertible fact is that the current administration of Bola Tinubu is at its wit’s end as far as tackling the rising spate of insecurity in the country is concerned. The kidnappings and killings have become a nightmare to every citizen. And characteristic of many Nigerian leaders, once an issue goes beyond their capability or comprehension; they try to deceive their citizens with a hypocritical resort to God. That is why you will always hear this phrase, “Only God can save this country!”
It is understandable if hard-pressed Nigerians become frustrated or spiritual in their bid to tackle their existential problems. But when someone mandated to solve a particular problem in the country resigns to fate or resorts to “only God can save us” rhetoric, it means all hope is lost.
This is the signal the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, has sent to Nigerians. In a recent interview with BBC Hausa, he said, among others, that only God could end Nigeria’s insecurity challenges. True, insecurity, as he said, is a challenge that can happen to anyone. Unfortunately, he regretted, “some members of the opposition appear pleased with the situation. They do not care about the people. What matters to them is portraying the government as a failure for their own political interests and deceiving people into believing they alone can end insecurity.”
He then concluded, “It is only God that can bring an end to this insecurity, alongside our collective prayers and efforts. It should not be used as a tool to condemn others or score political points.”
Matawalle is a huge disappointment. What does he expect Nigerians to do when he, entrusted with the responsibility of protecting them, has run to God amid the exploits of terrorists who slaughter people, including senior military officers, with impunity?
Recall that the governor of Zamfara State, Dauda Lawal, had accused him of having sympathy for terrorists. He said when Matawalle was governor of Zamfara, he haboured bandits in Government House and even funded them and purchased vehicles for them. He is not fit to be in the Ministry of Defence. It is surprising why he has not been forced to resign.
Besides Matawalle’s faux pas, a former Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, said it was difficult to track terrorists in their well fortified forests because they hid in some areas where bombs could not penetrate. The Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede, likened them to the biblical “prodigal sons” who deserved a window to repent, if they wanted, rather than pushing them to the extreme. The National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, reportedly said they were “our brothers” who were part of us. He advocated for dialogue and acceptance of surrendered fighters.
Hypocrisy is the trademark of most of our leaders. Former President Muhammadu Buhari, at some point in November 2016, said “only God can unite Nigeria.” In December 2020, he also said that only God could effectively supervise the Nigerian and Nigerien border. That was when cross-border smuggling was rampant in Nigeria.
It is not surprising that fake pastors and native doctors are having a field day in Nigeria. Citizens have lost hope in the ability of their leaders to solve their problems. So, they fall victims to fake pastors, prophets, and native doctors who manipulate them, milk them of their meagre resources and still worsen their situation.
Anambra State government is dealing with such people under the Anambra State Homeland Security Law 2025. The target remains people who make charms for criminals, stage fake miracles, or sell deceptive items. Earlier this month, the government arraigned eight pastors for alleged fake miracles and sundry spiritual fraud at the High Court in Awka. The state had earlier dealt with some fake native doctors.
There are many native doctors and spiritualists who make charms for bandits, kidnappers, and terrorists. Traditionalists like Johnpaul Ezenagu, also known as Muo Mmili Afuluanya, (the visible water spirit) have been arraigned for alleged ritual practices and empowering criminal networks, among others. One of the native doctors, Chukwudozie Nwangwu, also known as Akwa Okuko Tiwara Aki, (chicken’s egg that breaks a palm kernel) has been convicted and sentenced to 12 years imprisonment.
You don’t totally blame Nigerians who resort to spiritual solution when the government has failed in its duties. If you are the parent of the kidnapped kids who have spent over one month in the forests with their captors, what will you do if not to rely completely on God? If you are among the very poor who wake up not knowing where the next meal will come from, you may not mind sleeping in prayer ministries for miracles? Or visit the native doctors for money rituals?
It is unfortunate that the Federal Government has continued to deceive itself with the concept of amnesty for terrorists. Its Operation Safe Corridor (OSC) is said to have engendered the rehabilitation of thousands of repentant terrorists in our midst. President Bola Tinubu boasted in his Democracy Day 2026 address that over 124,000 fighters and dependants had laid down their arms since 2023 through OSC. The true picture is that the total number the President quoted reportedly surrendered since 2015 when the OSC started and not since 2023.
In the same address, Tinubu informed Nigerians that this year’s defence and security budget of N5.41 trillion was the largest ever. If this year’s budget is the highest ever, how has it solved our security crisis? Why did the country record one of the highest increases in terrorism deaths in the world in 2025? Tinubu’s administration is worse in terms of insecurity compared to that of his predecessor, the late Muhammadu Buhari. Until we begin to show sincerity in the fight against insurgency, we will head nowhere as a country.
If the United States had waited on God to come down and act for it, would it have been possible for its Navy SEALs to track down and kill the late al-Qaeda founder, Osama bin Laden, in Pakistan in May 2011? If Israel had also waited on God in its war with Hezbollah and Hamas, among other terrorists, would they not have made mincemeat of the country?
This is not to say that one doubts the supernatural control God has in the affairs of man. My point of departure from Matawalle and people of his ilk is that the same God gave man the power to solve the problems of his environment; to manufacture or buy sophisticated weapons that can send the bandits to Him for judgment. Rather than do that, they choose to disturb Him to come down and solve our problems for us.
You can now see why fake pastors and native doctors, who lure gullible people with fake spiritual items while they smile and walk through their ignorance to the bank, may never lack customers.
