Nigerian 'prophet' sold prosperity products to his congregation. The EFCC says it was a N70 million fraud.

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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested Godwin Ajuluchukwucheya, popularly known as Prophet Sunday Koboko, for allegedly defrauding his church members of N70.3 million. The EFCC said its investigations showed that the self-acclaimed prophet’s modus operandi was luring church members into buying his “products” for prosperity.

The arrest followed a petition from Okey Uwakwe, one of the victims, who alleged he paid N6.2 million to the prophet for products that were supposed to bring financial breakthrough. They did not bring financial breakthrough. They brought financial ruin for the buyer. For the prophet, they brought N70 million.

The prosperity product pipeline

The pattern is simple and effective. The prophet claims divine authority. The divine authority is used to sell products. The products are supposed to produce prosperity. The prosperity does not arrive. The prophet explains that more products are needed. More products are purchased. The prosperity still does not arrive. The prophet explains that faith was insufficient, or that a spiritual obstacle was detected, or that a higher-tier product is required. The cycle continues until the money runs out or the EFCC arrives.

This is not a new pattern. It is the prosperity gospel in its most literal form: the gospel is the product, the product is the prosperity, and the prosperity belongs to the person selling the product. The congregation buys. The prophet prospers. The prosperity flows in one direction, from the believer to the seller, and the theology explains why this is divine rather than criminal.

The EFCC intervention

The EFCC’s intervention is significant because it reframes the transaction. What the prophet called “products for prosperity,” the EFCC calls “fraud.” What the congregation called “faith giving,” the EFCC calls “defrauding.” What the church called “ministry,” the EFCC calls “criminal organization.” The reframing matters because it removes the religious shield that protects the transaction from scrutiny.

The prosperity gospel works because it operates inside a theological framework that makes questioning the transaction equivalent to questioning God. If the prophet says the product will bring prosperity, and the prosperity does not arrive, the problem is not the product. It is your faith. The EFCC’s intervention says: no, the problem is the product. The product was always the problem. The theology was the sales pitch.

The broader pattern

Prophet Sunday Koboko is not unique. He is one of dozens of self-acclaimed prophets in Nigeria who have been investigated or arrested for fraud in recent years. The EFCC has a dedicated unit for religious fraud. The pattern is always the same: divine authority, prosperity products, financial extraction, no prosperity, no refund, no accountability, until law enforcement arrives.

The satire is that the prophet was selling prosperity and keeping the money. The tragedy is that the congregation was buying prosperity and losing the money. The propaganda is that the entire transaction was wrapped in the language of faith, which made it invisible to scrutiny until the EFCC knocked on the door.

Satire verdict: The EFCC arrested Ajuluchukwucheya and alleged the N70 million was obtained through fraud. The miracles were staged, according to the EFCC’s account. The charges are unproven in court. The products did not bring prosperity. The congregation already knew. They just could not say it inside the church.