The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Diocese on the Niger, has suspended the Rev. Ifunaya Maduka, vicar of St. Paul’s Parish, Nteje, in Anambra State, for six months without pay following allegations that he staged miracles and arranged prophecies, Nigerian press reports said this week. The suspension was reported in a letter dated April 27, 2026, signed by the Bishop on the Niger, the Rt. Rev. Owen Chidozie Nwokolo, entitled “Suspension from office as Vicar of St. Paul’s Parish, Nteje”
The letter said “credible and verifiable reports” had been brought to diocesan authorities alleging that Maduka engaged in “arranged and manipulated prophecies” by involving persons whom he “induced or paid” for that purpose while presenting the acts as “genuine prophetic manifestations from God”.
According to the letter, Maduka admitted involvement when confronted with evidence, after having previously assured the bishop that his ministry conformed to the teaching of Christ, Holy Scripture and the ethos of the Anglican Church.
Bishop Nwokolo said the conduct raised “grave ecclesiastical, moral, and disciplinary concerns,” including false prophecy, abuse of the name of God, deception of the faithful and the general public, and conduct that could amount to obtaining money under false pretence.
The letter said such conduct was inconsistent with “Christian doctrine, Anglican discipline, moral integrity, and the ethical standards expected of the clergy,” and had brought dishonour to Christ, abused sacred trust, and ridiculed the image of the diocese.
Maduka was ordered to hand over church properties, records, documents, keys, funds and other parish or diocesan items to the People’s Warden and to vacate the church premises within four days of the letter.
The letter also said a disciplinary panel would be constituted within one month to investigate further and determine whether additional action would be necessary under church discipline and regulations.
The Diocese on the Niger is part of the Ecclesiastical Province of the Niger in the Church of Nigeria, and the official Church of Nigeria provincial listing names the Rt. Rev. Owen Chidozie Nwokolo as Bishop of On the Niger, with the bishop’s court in Onitsha, Anambra State. Press reports identify St. Paul’s Parish, Nteje, as located in Oyi Local Government Area of Anambra State.
The allegations against Maduka quickly became a social-media story in southeastern Nigeria, with posts on Facebook and Instagram identifying him as “Chaluoku” or “Revd Chaluoku TV” and linking the case to wider debates over “arrangee” miracles, paid testimonies, prophetic ministries and calls by some commentators for civil authorities to act.
The case also comes against a wider background of concern within Nigerian Anglicanism over the influence of prosperity-gospel and neo-Pentecostal practices on historic churches. The Very Rev. Jesse Zink, principal of Montreal Diocesan Theological College, writing in the Journal of Anglican Studies, argued that neo-Pentecostal or “new generation” churches have reshaped the Nigerian religious landscape through prosperity teaching, charismatic worship, emphasis on supernatural forces, and new approaches to biblical authority, and that the Church of Nigeria has both resisted and adopted aspects of this environment.
Dr. Zink also recorded Nigerian Anglican efforts to counter prosperity-gospel interpretations through expository preaching training, including the statement from one Nigerian evangelical Anglican trainer that “the reason Jesus Christ came to earth” was not to bring prosperity but “to save mankind from sin”.
Official Church of Nigeria commentary has made similar criticisms. In 2016 the Rt. Rev. Prof. Andrew Olu Igenoza, then rector of Crowther Graduate Theological Seminary, condemned “modern day” prosperity preaching and warned that material wealth should not be equated with spiritual wealth. In a 2023 lecture published by the Church of Nigeria, the Most Rev. Blessing C. Enyindah, Dean of the Church of Nigeria and Archbishop of the Niger Delta Province, criticized the “prosperity gospel syndrome” and the “sow seed” theology that, he said, exploited the poor and contributed to a materialistic society.
The allegations reported by the Diocese on the Niger in the Maduka case concern deception: the alleged staging of prophecies and miracles, the alleged payment or inducement of participants, and the presentation of those acts as genuine divine manifestations.
