LAGOS PASTOR IMPLICATED IN RITUAL SCANDAL OPENS UP

The news broke, just like a thunderbolt. Mrs.
Rosemary Chukwu, a mother of four, residing at
33, Omolegede street, a suburb of Ikorodu area
in Lagos State, abducted a seven-year-old
primary School pupil, Emmanuel Emeka, and
was about taking him to a den when it was
foiled .




Shockingly, the suspect revealed to the
bewildered crowd that gathered after she was
caught that her pastor asked her to bring the
boy. She mentioned the General Overseer of Holy
Family Ministry a.k.a House of Mercy in the
same Ikorodu, as her pastor.



The pastor, identified as Ernest Chukwuemeka
Nwankwo, 49, was said to be on the run and
was later apprehended and handed over to the
police at the State Criminal Investigations
Department, Panti, Yaba, Lagos for interrogation.
Crime Guard was able to corner the embattled
pastor as he was leaving the confines of police
cell at Panti and he gave his own account of the
ugly incident.



Excerpts:
INTRODUCTION
"My name is Prophet Ernest Chukwuemeka
Nwankwo, from Nsugbe in Anambra East L.G.A,
Anambra State. I have a Ministry formerly called
Jesus Divine Healing and Deliverance Ministry
now called Holy Family, Happy Family Ministry. I
was out of Lagos for two weeks. I came back on
Tuesday, June 14, and came to my Ministry on
Wednesday morning.
My ministry is located at 319, Lagos road,
Majudeen in Ikorodu. We carry out prayers and
deliverance in the ministry.
The ministry started in 1997. We have no less
than 15000 members with a spread in virtually
all the major cities in Nigeria including the
Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. I started as a
member of Catholic Charismatic Renewal
Movement before I established my own ministry.
I am 49 yrs.
Chukwuemeka Nwankwo
Chukwuemeka Nwankwo
" I do not know how these allegations of ritual
actions against me started. My ministry has
existed for 17 years and we have never been
associated with any bad thing or any untoward
allegation. We have been doing well in carrying
out God's work since we came into existence.
People troop to our ministry, we organize
children's day for over 30,000 children all over
our branches every year. In Ikorodu, we normally
have not less than 10,000 children during the
day.
We have hosted these children since we stated
and we have never had any problem for more
than 10 years now. We have equally been doing
well in all our activities, we have rehabilitation
center where mad people are healed. Relations
of such people bring them to our ministry and
also stay with them until they are healed after
which they will go home. We do not charge
them, we feed them free. So, the ministry has
been flourishing in all our branches.
"When I got to the office on Wednesday, June 15
to do some work and leave for Abuja for another
programme, within 20 minutes, around 7.30am, a
group of people, armed with dangerous weapons
invaded our ministry, breaking down everything
at sight. They also descended on our members
who were over 50 in attendance for the morning
worship.
They were over 300 and were ferociously
destroying all the properties and manhandling
everybody. It was like hell was let loose on us.
They were armed to the teeth and were
unrestrained in their bid to destroy everything in
the ministry.
They not only subjected our members to serious
beating, they also took all their bags and
stripped all the women and children naked. I was
inside the office when they invaded the place but
they later broke into my office and descended on
me. We were all seriously wounded and our
bodies covered with blood.
RESCUE
Surprisingly, four of the hoodlums took pity on
me and rescued me from their clutches as they
were hitting my head with cutlasses and
dangerous weapons. They took me to Owutu
police station where I made a statement. When
they asked me how it started, I could not explain
but simply told them that some hoodlums
invaded our ministry for no just cause.
It was while we were there that the people that
rescued me told us that a woman claimed I sent
her to kidnap somebody's child. It was like a
fairy tale to me. Before the police I asked for the
identity of the woman and why she claimed I
told her to kidnap somebody and they said it
was for ritual purposes. After I recovered from
the shock, the policemen then advised that I
should go and treat myself because I was
bleeding profusely as a result of the beating.
I then proceeded to the hospital for treatment
only to start reading in the papers the following
day a lot of other damaging stories and that I
was on the run. I personally reported to the
police at Owutu in Ikorodu after treating myself
and also personally reported at Panti the
following day on a Monday.




AT PANTI
By Thursday morning, unfounded rumours were
flying every where. On Friday, while I was going
to treat myself, I quickly sent my lawyer to Panti
after hearing the rumours flying everywhere
about me and that the case was transferred to
Panti.
My lawyer told them that I personally reported to
the police at Owute after the incident and that I
was allowed to go and treat myself. He then
wrote an undertaking to produce me the next
Monday and we all came to Panti that Monday
straight from the General hospital Ikeja where I
had an x-ray. Even one of my ribs was said to
have cracked and I sustained other serious
injuries.
INTERROGATION AT PANTI
I can't remember seeing or meeting the woman
before. A lot of people come to my ministry so, it
will be very difficult for me to know all of them.
However, the police at Panti interrogated both of
us and, in fact, when they brought her before me,
I could not remember seeing her in life and I told
the policemen this fact. I can't even remember
whether she called me on telephone or not
because I cannot say the number of people that
call me on telephone for my number is open and
given to people freely to help in solving their
spiritual problems.
Nevertheless, the police interrogated both of us,
she claimed that Holy spirit told her that I
should give her N2.5 million, and that she came
and told me to give her the money but I told her
that I had no money, that she came back again
to me and requested for the money and I then
told her to go and bring a child before I will give
her the money.



I then asked her where we discussed this, if she
has any evidence to show that she ever visited
my ministry because visitors to the ministry
always register their names before seeing me, or
if there is any other evidence to show that we
discussed that kind of thing. I punctured her
story because I cannot understand what
concerns me with her message with her Holy
spirit.





SUCKING BLOOD
She also claimed that I have been seeing her in
the spirit to suck her blood and that of her
daughter with two gallons since she failed to
bring a child to me. She claimed that I used to
stand at her door for two days, tormenting her,
and that was why she had to go for the child
when she was caught.
I asked her where we met and discussed
because I have been out of town for two weeks
and how did she know that I came back. She
said she was aware that I came back because I
used to carry out consultations. It is well known
by everybody that my consultation days are
announced for members of the public to come
and be healed. She also claimed she called me
on phone in December last year and that she
came to the ministry once this year but she
could not substantiate where we discussed her
claims.



She was thoroughly interrogated but she kept on
contradicting herself as if she was either insane
or under a spell. Unfortunately, her daughter she
claimed I was sucking her blood with hers whom
she said was 14 years was not there during the
interrogation.
I had hoped that she was there for us all to be
able to decipher what her mother was talking
about because she is old enough to speak for her
self at 14. I have never had this kind of ugly
experience and I pray never to have it again. I
also pray that the police should endevour to get
to the route of this case because I have suffered
so much over a matter I do not know anything
about.
KIDNAP SAGA
The man that was shown saying he was
kidnapped and brought from Anambra State is
one of the mad people undergoing treatment in
my ministry. The cousin that brought him to the
ministry is Mr. Atuanya, a member of my ministry
and his wife has been with him in the ministry
while he was undergoing treatment. They are
living witnesses and they are ready to testify to
anybody that cares to know the truth.
This rumor against me is very painful to me
because I suffered for over fourteen years to
build this ministry to serve mankind. All of a
sudden, and from the pit of hell, an unknown
figure materialized from no where to pour odium
on me and accuse me of ritual acts. In all these
years, nobody has ever complained or petitioned
against my activities in the ministry.
Instead, people have been pouring encomiums
and giving glory to God for all we have been
doing for mankind. The whole thing is still like a
dream and I pray I would wake up and testify
that it was really a dream. My ministry operates
an open door policy, we have no go areas, both
visitors and members of the ministry are never
restricted even up to my personal office. Why
must I send her to bring a child to me when I
am happily married with children, what will I do
with the child?
INCALCULABLE DAMAGE
This very ugly development has affected me
psychologically in a tremendous way, the
emotional trauma is untold. In terms of the good
will I built over the years, the name, in fact, one
cannot quantify the degree of destruction done to
me by this very ugly and unfounded, mischievous
rumor. I have suffered and lost almost
everything because the ugly news went beyond
the shores of this country.




People have been calling from all the parts of the
world and you know that bad news travels faster
than any other thing. It is very unfortunate that
people believe such a story when there is
nothing at all to hang it on the head of the
prophet. And, when you look at the woman, you
will know that she is some how deranged and
we are convinced that by the time police finish
their investigation, the truth will be out.




WHY ME?
What I cannot fathom is why she choose to tell
all these lies against me. She may have been
sent by somebody to run me down because
people in that neighborhood said they saw one
mysterious SUV hovering around in the wee
hours before the incident and also the mother of
the victim reportedly said she saw an exotic
vehicle that later picked up her children,.
Police should investigate to find out who owns
the vehicle and where they were taken to. Who
ever picked her children must have a link with
this incident.


Police should also find out whether this is the
first time she is doing this kind of thing and if it
is not, how many people must have falling
victims to her antics? Worse still, so far, nobody
has told us where the woman is from because
the way the media descended on the ministry,
they left out the main ingredient of the whole
matter as if they were sponsored to run down
the ministry.

All I know is that she cannot be doing this alone.
Her sponsors should be fished out. So far, the
police has been professional in their interrogation
and they made us understand that investigations
will take time and that the truth must surely
surface.







INSIDE THE CELL
Inside the cell, I detested being treated like a
criminal but I took it as another message point
in terms of ministration after all, Jesus went
through worst tribulation in life.
(sources:vanguard/nigeriaeye.com)

AFTER READING THIS ARTICLE ALL I CAN SAY IS THAT ONLY GOD KNOWS THE TRUTH