The Presiding Pastor of Deliverance Home of Comfort Assembly in Ihiagwa, Owerri, Imo State, Benjamin Ndieze, is presently in police net over his alleged involvement in a stage-managed kidnap incident.
The Imo State Commissioner of Police, Chris Ezike, while briefing journalists on Sunday, said Ndieze had arranged with Blessing Ahamefula of Ngwa Road, Aba, Abia State to come to his church with her little girl, Faith Ahamefula, who is just five-year-old.
Ndieze received and handed over the child to his church member, Emmanuel Onuoha.
He further ordered Onuoha to drop the girl at NNPC Filling Station at Control Post, Owerri.
The arrangement was to convey the impression that Faith had been kidnapped in order to fulfill the prophecy of Ndieze.
It was gathered that during a church service, Ndieze prophesied that there was a woman in the congregation who was looking for her daughter.
He said that Faith was kidnapped from Aba by her uncle, identified as Emeka.
Ndieze said the baby had been taken to Onitsha preparatory to being taken to Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
He claimed that through his powers and prayers, the kidnappers and ritual killers would drop and abandon Faith at NNPC Control Post, Owerri.
Ndieze called on his members, who desired to witness the power of God in operation to go to NNPC Control Post, Owerri in order to witness the demonstration of his power and the miraculous rescue of Faith.
At NNPC Filling Station Control Post, chaos broke out.
Some people had sighted the church members dropping off Faith and had assumed they were kidnappers.
Not long after, church members, including the persons that dropped off the baby girl, thronged NNPC Filling Station, Control Post to behold the “miracle”.
Some people raised the alarm, accusing them of kidnapping, having earlier sighted the faces.
Others were accused of being ritual killers.
In the ensuing confusion, the police were alerted.
Everyone was arrested and moved to police command.
In the course of investigation, it was discovered that Ndieze was a fake and had allegedly defrauded most members of his church through fake prophecy.
According to Ndieze, he had often been pressured to stage-manage prophecies and he had finally carved in.
He said this was his first attempt at stage managing a prophecy.
Ndieze, who said he was an Assemblies of God chorister, said no money was paid to him for the fake prophecies.
He, however, noted that the arrangement was for the news of the “miraculous” recovery of Faith to filter into town and attract more members to his church.