The miracle business has labor costs. Eight pastors from Nigeria’s Anambra State appeared before the High Court in Awka (the capital of Anambra State) on June 5, 2026, charged with organizing fake miracles. They allegedly recruited and paid actors to play the roles of the sick, the blind, and the lame — then “healed” them during recorded religious services as congregants looked on and donated.
Investigators obtained video confessions from both the accused pastors and the actors they recruited. Those recordings form the central evidence in the case. Anambra State Attorney General Tobechukwu Nweke (SAN, a senior lawyer rank) is personally leading the prosecution.
The arrests were carried out by the Agunechemba, a state security unit created by the Anambra State Homeland Security Law of 2025.
THE EIGHT DEFENDANTS
The pastors charged are: Ndubisi Nnachukwu of Omega Dominion Ministry; Ekeleme Ugochukwu of Cloud of Glory Prophetic Ministry; Bishop Emeka Nwamkpa of Chapel of Faith Ministry; Peter Chukwu of Messiah Adoration Ministry; Chinedu Egwuonwu of Citadel of Grace Ministry; Ebele Nnachukwu of Jehovah the Mighty Than All Ministry; Miracle Iruoma of City of Power Ministry; and Chukwukadibia Ogwuama of Land of Testimony Adoration Ministry.
They are charged under Sections 18(3) and 19(1) of the Anambra State Homeland Security Law 2025 — criminalizing fake supernatural powers and the criminal use of places of worship — as well as Section 3(1) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud-Related Offences Act LFN 2006 for obtaining money by false pretences. The next hearing is set for June 15, 2026.
ARRANGEE MIRACLES
The term arrangee miracles has been documented in Nigerian Pentecostal circles for years. The practice involves recruiting agents — often people in precarious circumstances — to feign illness, blindness, or physical disability. The pastor then “heals” them publicly before a witnessing congregation. Donations follow.
The operation is methodical. Roles are defined. People are hired to fill them. The healing sequences are filmed and shared on social media, where they serve to recruit new followers and solicit further donations.
SOLUDO’S LAW
Anambra’s governor, economist Chukwuma Charles Soludo, signed the Homeland Security Law in January 2025. It took effect in February. The law created the Agunechemba, tasked in part with combating the criminal misuse of religious institutions.
This is the first time in Nigerian history that a state governor has simultaneously had eight pastors arrested and charged for fraudulent religious practices. Soludo has repeatedly described fraudulent religious networks as a public security problem since taking office in 2021. In January 2025, a traditional sorcerer named Chukwudozie Nwangwu had already been sentenced to 12 years for making talismans for criminals.
Source: Punch Nigeria, June 5, 2026.
