A woman, Loveth Aluu, who was involved in an alleged N500 million fake miracle scandal, has been arraigned before a magistrate court in Enugu State, South-east Nigeria.
How it happened
PREMIUM TIMES reported that Ms Aluu, in February, testified at the Zion Prayer Movement Outreach, that she bought a mansion worth N500 million following prayers and prophecy to her from the founder of the ministry, Ebuka Obi.
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But later within the month, the 32-year-old was seen selling bottled water and soft drinks in a small shop in Enugu State, prompting residents to question the authenticity of her testimony at the ministry.
Mr Obi, while playing a clip of the mansion, began jubilating while members of the congregation danced and clapped in celebration.
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But after the video which showed Ms Aluu selling bottle water and soft drinks went viral, Robo Consult, a construction and real estate firm that owns the mansion the lady had claimed she bought, denied her claims.
The company, owned by Emmanuel Asogwa, subsequently arrested the woman.
Mr Obi, the self-acclaimed prophet, accused the woman of lying in the altar of God because she was sponsored by an unnamed priest based in the South-east to blackmail him and his ministry.
The prophet has been repeatedly accused of performing fake miracles in order to convince members of his ministry to make monetary donations.
Arraignment
On Tuesday, Ms Aluu was arraigned before
Enugu North Magistrate Court 1.
She is being prosecuted on a four-count charge of false pretence, defamation of character, conspiracy and felony.
The police prosecutor told the court that Ms Aluu did by false pretence and with intent to defraud, present herself as the owner of a five-bedroom duplex located at WTC Estate in Enugu belonging to Mr Asogwa, an architect.
He said the defendant also conspired to sell the mansion which failed and went ahead to falsely testify at the ministry that she had bought the property, thereby defaming Mr Obi’s character in the process.
The prosecutor told the court that offences are punishable under Section 460 of the Criminal Code, Cap 30, Vol. II, Revised Laws of Enugu State of Nigeria, 2004.
When the charges were read out to the defendant, she pleaded not guilty.
The defense counsel, Charles Nwodo, applied for bail for the defendant.
The police prosecutor did not oppose the bail application, but asked the Magistrate, S.O. Chukwuani, to impose bail conditions that will enable “efficient trial” of the defendant.
The Magistrate, Mr Chukwuani, consequently granted Ms Aluu N1 million bail.
The magistrate said, as part of the bail conditions, the defendant will produce a surety with three years of tax clearance.
He adjourned the case until 9 April 2025 for further hearing.
Defence counsel speaks
Counsel to the defendant, Mr Nwodo, told reporters after the court hearing that the police filed charges against Ms Aluu after Messrs Asogwa and Obi petitioned the police against her.
However, Messrs Asogwa and Obi were not physically present at the court which the magistrate kicked against, prompting their lawyers to apologise for their unavoidable absence.
Mr Nwodo further told reporters that only Mr Asogwa’s name was initially on the charge sheet with two counts, but the counts were later increased to four with the addition of Mr Obi’s name as the second nominal complainant.
The lawyer expressed hope that they would meet the bail conditions.
“In no distant time, she will perfect her bail conditions and she will be coming from her house for trial,” he said.
Backstory
On 29 January 2025, during his Night of Open Heaven, a daily online prayer programme, Mr Obi prophesied that a certain lady called “Loveth” would soon receive God’s favour and celebrate.
By February, a woman who identified herself as Loveth Aluu visited the ministry and claimed that Mr Obi’s prophecy had manifested in her life.
Ms Aluu, in the testimony in a video clip, claimed that she witnessed a breakthrough after Mr Obi, whom she calls “daddy,” prophesied about her.
READ ALSO: Nigerian woman who bore false testimony of buying N500m mansion speaks
She then submitted a video clip of the mansion, which she claimed she bought with proceeds of her booming business due to the prophecy.
The prophet then prayed fervently and asked the congregants to “claim” the miracle so that they could experience similar favour from God.
But things took another dimension when a video clip surfaced online which showed Ms Aluu selling bottled water and soft drinks in a small shop in Enugu.
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