A self-styled prophet, Godwin Sunday Ajuluchukwucheya, also known as Prophet Sunday Koboko, has been convicted and sentenced to one year’s imprisonment by the Enugu State High Court for defrauding members of his church and other victims of over N136.4 million through false pretences.
The conviction was secured by the Enugu Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) before Justice H. O. Eya of the Enugu State High Court sitting in Independence Layout, Enugu.
Ajuluchukwucheya was prosecuted on a two-count charge bordering on obtaining by false pretence and stealing involving N136,436,000.
One of the charges read: “Godwin Sunday Ajuluchukwucheya, sometime between 2023 and February 2025 in Enugu, Enugu State, within the jurisdiction of the Enugu State High Court, with intent to defraud, obtained the sum of N136,436,000 from unsuspecting members of your church under the false pretence that you had won N30 billion in Baba Ijebu lotto and that investors in your investment scheme would receive dividends according to their investments, which pretence you knew to be false.”
According to the EFCC, the offence contravenes Section 1(1)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006, and is punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.
The defendant pleaded guilty to the charges when they were read in court. Following his plea, prosecution counsel, Assistant Commander of the EFCC (ACE II) Rotimi Ajobiewe, urged the court to convict and sentence him accordingly.
Justice Eya subsequently sentenced Ajuluchukwucheya to one year’s imprisonment with an option of a N500,000 fine.
In addition to the sentence, the court ordered the forfeiture of the convict’s landed property to the Federal Government through the EFCC.
The court ruled that: “The convict’s landed property covered by Customary Certificate of Occupancy dated July 25, 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 Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and shall be sold, with the proceeds used as restitution for the victims of the offence.”
The case stemmed from a petition filed by Mrs Ngene Nkiruka Jane, who alleged that the convict falsely presented himself as a genuine man of God and convinced her that he possessed the power to resurrect her late husband.
She also alleged that Ajuluchukwucheya persuaded her to invest in a fraudulent scheme by promising returns based on the amount invested.
According to the petition, she paid a total of N6.7 million for the purported investment scheme and the promised spiritual intervention to bring her late husband back to life.
Another petitioner, Okey Uwakwe, alleged that the convict claimed he could spiritually influence his brother, who had been living abroad since 1997, to return to Nigeria. Uwakwe said he paid N6,231,400 for the purported spiritual exercise.
The EFCC said that during investigations, numerous members of the convict’s ministry came forward with similar complaints of fraud.
Investigators also discovered that Ajuluchukwucheya allegedly operated by persuading worshippers to purchase various so-called prosperity items, including “miracle stickers,” “spiritual dragon,” “Holy Ghost thunder,” and other products, while promising spiritual and financial breakthroughs that never materialised.
