Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
Anambra State Governor, Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, has issued a dramatic challenge to pastors and religious leaders who claim to perform miracles, daring them to demonstrate their healing powers at the state’s foremost public health facility, the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital in Amaku, Awka. The governor made the declaration while speaking at St. Patrick’s Cathedral during the All Knights Day of the Catholic Diocese of Awka on Sunday, May 10, 2026. He also disclosed that his administration had already arrested several individuals described as "fake pastors and bishops," who are currently in custody and making confessions.
Soludo’s challenge to the clergy was unequivocal, as he insisted that genuine healing should be subject to medical verification, not religious spectacle. "Whoever wants to perform a miracle should come to Amaku Hospital," he declared, effectively inviting any pastor or prophet who truly wishes to demonstrate supernatural healing to do so at a location where their claims could be objectively assessed by medical professionals. The governor accused false gospel ministers of deceiving vulnerable people in the state by preaching what he described as a gospel of "salvation without the cross," a message he characterized as exploitative and devoid of genuine spiritual sacrifice. He further emphasized that hospitals remain the proper place for anyone who truly claims to possess healing powers to demonstrate such abilities for all to see.
Soludo used the occasion to defend his administration’s ongoing crackdown on fraudulent religious practices, describing the action as part of a mission to build a "new Anambra" free from deception and social vices. "The state has commenced an ongoing crackdown on fake pastors who exploit the vulnerable by preaching a gospel of ‘salvation without the cross.’ As I speak now, several of them are already in custody and confessing," he told the congregation. The governor also revealed that among those recently arrested was a Nnewi‑based native doctor, Johnpaul Ezenagu, popularly known as "Mmuo Mmili Afulu Anya," who was apprehended by the Anambra State Agunechemba Strike Force over allegations of performing illegal rituals and supplying counterfeit currency to internet fraudsters. The crackdown, which also targeted several self-styled pastors and prophets, has been framed by the government as a broader effort to shield vulnerable citizens from those who turn religion into a business venture built on manipulation and fear.
The governor’s remarks, which quickly went viral on social media, have generated a flurry of mixed reactions from Nigerians across the country. Some users applauded Soludo’s move as a long‑overdue stand against fraud and religious exploitation, with one commentator noting that genuine miracles, if they occur, should be subject to the same scrutiny as any other empirical phenomenon. However, others on social media criticised the governor’s priorities, suggesting that his administration should focus on traditional governance issues, such as infrastructure and economic development, rather than regulating religious expression. Some defenders of religious leaders pushed back, arguing that the spirit of God is not obligated to perform on command at a government hospital.
Governor Soludo’s dramatic challenge at Amaku Hospital represents one of the most audacious attempts by a Nigerian state government to police the intersection of faith and fraud. By insisting that supernatural claims be subjected to the cold light of scientific verification, he has not only thrown down the gauntlet to a growing class of charismatic miracle‑mongers but also sparked a national conversation about the limits of religious freedom in a country where desperate citizens are often preyed upon by false prophets. Whether any pastor will take the governor up on his challenge, and what would happen if a "miracle" were actually to occur, now remains the most anticipated question hanging over Awka.
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