It’s hard to believe that our fiercely looking and ‘spiritually filled’ men of God could be linked to a crime as bad as drug scandals, but some men of God have a pot up their sleeves.
Below is a list of Nigerian Pastors who have been arrested for drug scandals.
List of Nigerian Pastors Who Have Arrested For Drug Scandals
1. Daniel Lanre Akintola
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In 2015, Pastor Akintola was arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for his possession of hard drugs.
According to reports, the Lagos-based pastor was arrested at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport (AIIA), Enugu with the 1.978kg of heroin concealed in a false bottom of his luggage.
When arrested, he said;
“I am a pastor with the Gospel Faith Mission International, Olayemi Assembly, Ipaja, Lagos. I attended a ministers’ conference in Uganda. This bag containing heroin is my bag, but I am a pastor and not a drug trafficker,”
When asked to prove if he truly attended the minsters’ conference in Uganda as claimed by him, he couldn’t prove it.
2. Pastor Cukwudi Okechukwu
Second on the list of Nigerian pastors who have been arrested over drugs is Mr. Chukwudi Okechukwu, a Nigerian pastor who preaches in Tanzania under the Lord Chosen Church of Nigeria.
This clergyman was sentenced to 30 years in prison after being caught smuggling cocaine worth 3.1 billion Tanzanian shillings.
According to reports, Okechukwu is believed to be one of the top members of a drug syndicate operating in Tanzania, Nigeria, and South Africa, and was hailed alongside a South African, Stan Hycent, and Pakistani Shoaib Mohammad Ayazi over the same offense.
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3. Prophet Isaac Amata
In 2018, a Nigerian pastor, Isaac Amata was arrested by the Zambian authorities for the possession and allegedly trafficking of drugs.
Amata was arrested by anti-drug officials upon his arrival at the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport in Lusaka, Zambia with 26.29 kilograms of ephedrine, a medication and stimulant drug.
4. Prophet TB Joshua
A popular Nigerian pastor and the general overseer was also arrested for his alleged involvement in hard drugs.
In 1996, a battalion of soldiers invaded the Synagogue Church of all Nations to arrest TB Joshua following petitions from his adversaries that he was dealing drugs.
The man of God was put behind bars for 13 days before he was released.
A few months later, The police, Yusuf Hassan who arrested Prophet T.B. Joshua made a chilling confession about the operation that led to the SCOAN leader spending weeks behind bars.
Hassan said he worked with the NDLEA when an informant tipped them off that Joshua was dealing drugs within his church premises.
Storming church premises in Lagos with 18 ‘armed’ officers and six soldiers, Yusuf recounted how the cleric was arrested and subsequently incarcerated for 13 days.
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“On our way to the office, we asked him that – if he was a man of God, let him disappear,” Hassan reminisced, describing how the operatives all taunted the cleric en route to prison.
“Our officers destroyed a lot of things while searching for drugs – but we couldn’t find anything. On the thirteenth day he was released because nothing incriminating was found on him or with him,” Yusuf continued.
However, after TB Joshua was pronounced innocent, Hassan revealed that calamity befell all involved in the operation.
“Among the officers that came to arrest TB Joshua, three of them are no longer alive. All 18 officers, except for myself, have been dismissed,” he revealed.
Yusuf himself said he was ‘on suspension after a court case landed him in prison for ten months.
“I want God to deliver me from the participation I took in this arrest,” he concluded.
5. Prophet Michael Raji
In 2015, operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) arrested the pastor of the Eternal Sacred Order of Cherubim and Seraphim at Agodo-Egbe, Ikorun, Lagos for unlawful possession of 174 kilograms of narcotic drugs
According to NDLEA, Prophet Micheal Raji was reported to have attempted to export the hard drug to South Africa but was intercepted at the Cargo section of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) during the pre-shipment examination.
“Preliminary investigation has indicated that the 60-year-old suspect Michael Raji is a suspected top member of a drug syndicate operating in Nigeria, Ghana, and South Africa,” NDLEA said.
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The pastor had three international passports bearing his photographs.
“One of the passports bears the name Michael Raji while the other two bear the name Kadigun Fatah Ola. It was equally discovered that the church premises where he ministers also serve as a warehouse for narcotics,” NDLEA said.
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