The Ebonyi State Police Command has confirmed the arrest of a controversial cleric, Bishop Samuel Onyeagoziri, General Overseer of Champions of the Truth Church, over damning allegations of sexual abuse made by a 22-year-old female member of his congregation.
The victim, identified as Euphemia Ede, accused the preacher of luring her into years of sexual exploitation under the guise of “divine healing” for her sickle cell condition.
Police spokesperson Joshua Ukandu disclosed to journalists in Abakaliki on Friday that the cleric was picked up on Wednesday and is still in custody, while investigators build a case against him.
“The General Overseer was arrested on Wednesday, and he has been in our custody. We have commenced an investigation and he will definitely be arraigned upon the conclusion of our findings,” Ukandu stated.
The arrest comes after a viral podcast interview and videos circulated online in which Ms. Ede, visibly distressed, accused the cleric of manipulation, threats, and sexual abuse.
During the interview, Ms. Ede recounted the loss of three siblings to sickle cell complications, a tragedy that left her parents desperate to prevent the same fate for her. In their search for a solution, they were introduced to Bishop Onyeagoziri, who offered a so-called “spiritual solution.”
But instead of prayers and healing, she said the cleric demanded that she must sleep with him for seven consecutive days for her genotype to miraculously change from SS to AA.
“He told me that once he sleeps with me for seven days, my genotype will change. He even claimed that many people had been healed that way. I was desperate, my parents were desperate, and so I had no option. He is the one who broke my virginity,” she recounted in tears.
According to her, she was still in Senior Secondary School 3 at the time and terrified of dying young, prompting her to give in to the preacher’s manipulation.
She said that despite repeatedly having sexual intercourse with the bishop, her condition never improved. Instead, her crisis worsened while she remained trapped in his house, living under threats.
Ms Ede further alleged that Onyeagoziri, also known as Ndubueze Onyeagoziri Okorie, not only threatened her with a rifle but also forced her to pose for nude photographs.
“People see those pictures and say I was smiling, but they don’t know it was out of fear. He said if I didn’t obey, he would kill me and no one would know what happened,” she said.
She maintained that she had been pleading with the cleric since 2021 to delete the explicit images, but he refused.
“It is not AI-generated. I am the girl in that video. I have been begging him to delete it since 2021, but he refused. Now he is lying to cover up,” she said, referring to a video of her online.
The victim revealed that between 2021 and 2025, she made multiple attempts to leave the cleric’s residence but was repeatedly threatened, with warnings that her life and that of her family would be at risk.
Matters worsened in 2025 when the cleric allegedly demanded to marry her, despite being married already.
The revelations have sparked outrage across Ebonyi State and Nigeria as a whole, with many residents and rights activists calling on the police, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), and women’s rights groups to ensure the bishop faces justice.
Just last week, explicit images involving the cleric and Ede went viral online.
The cleric immediately denied the images, claiming they were fabricated using artificial intelligence by “detractors” out to destroy his ministry.
But his accuser, Ms Ede, countered the denial, insisting that the images were genuine and taken by the bishop himself during her years of captivity in his house