Awka –Anambra State Government has threatened to take legal action against one self-styled prophet, popularly known as Onye eze Jesus, who claims to possess the powers to give wealth through spiritual cleansing.
In the past few weeks, the social media has been awash with videos of the said man who is the Founder, Children of Light Anointing Ministries, performing all manner of sacrifices at a river at Nkpor in Idemili North Council Area, in the name of giving stupendous wealth to people.
In the videos, the followers who are seeking wealth and affluence were seen with rams at the river, which were eventually slaughtered and the blood used to bath them.
There were also videos where the said prophet was seen spraying the followers who included stark-naked men and women money in the river, as a way of setting them free from poverty.
On Monday, the self-acclaimed man of God released another video where he claimed he will bring eight corpses from a known mortuary to life in the commercial city of Onitsha, on Thursday, the 28th of February, 2021.
Reacting to the development on Monday, Anambra State Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, C-Don Adinuba said the State Government is appalled at the conduct of the man, which he said promotes superstition and strife in society.
According to him, by telling his gullible and brainwashed followers that their misfortune is caused by family members, relatives, friends and business associates through magical powers, the self-styled prophet is fomenting serious troubles and instigating eternal enmity in various places and businesses which can lead to physical fights, bodily injuries and even deaths.
”Anambra State Government is in possession of some videos produced by the said man, where he not only claims to change the economic status of his adherents by magical means but also throws a lot of Nigeria’s currency notes into the river and compels his adult followers, both male and female, to bath naked in the river and records them on video which he distributes gleefully to all manner of people through the Internet and other means.
“By throwing plenty of naira notes into the river regularly as part of sacrifice to the river goddess and filming it and distributing the film to the whole world, he has brought Anambra State into global ridicule and, worse, gregariously committed a criminal offence. Burning or destroying the naira through any means is an offence criminalized by the Central Bank of Nigeria Act of 2007, and the offender is liable to imprisonment.
“By forcing his disciples to have a bath naked in a river, then film the naked adults and distribute the videos across the globe, Onyeze Jesus is guilty of denying his followers the right to self-dignity and of promoting indecent exposure, which is a crime under the Nigerian law,” the Commissioner noted.
Adinuba revealed that the state government has also received reports from former disciples that the said prophet had swindled them of their hard earned resources, with the promise of turning them into overnight millionaires have proved to be fraudulent.
He said government is looking into the claims, and if merit is found in them, the self-styled prophet will be prosecuted in accordance with the law.
While restating the state government’s commitment to the rights of freedom of worship and freedom of association, Adinuba however, warned that the state government will not tolerate a situation where heinous crimes will be carried out with impunity, in the name of religion.
“Anambra State is a modern society governed by the rule of law, civilized values and proper conduct. The government will not stand akimbo watching while an individual or a handful of individuals flagrantly abuse its values and flout its laws,” he said.
According to Adinuba, the character of the prophet is alien to the state, whose people are industrious and averse to ill-gotten wealth.
“Anambra people are famous throughout the world for their industry, knowledge, ingenuity, perseverance, a high savings rate and an infectious business drive, all combined to enable them to achieve tremendous success in various fields. Their success is not overnight nor through magic,” he opined.
Meanwhile, the self-styled prophet later on Monday released a video via the Facebook handle of his ministry, apologizing for his indecent conduct on Facebook and misuse of the Nigerian currency.
He blamed the development on his social media handlers who released the video without his knowledge.
