EVANGELIST EPHRAIM ONONYE: A WOLF IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING
By Philip Nweze
Whether it is sexual indiscretion, fraud, or physical abuse, Evangelist Ephraim Ononye is always at the centre of it all. In fact, it appears
controversy never leaves his side. The man who left the Anglican church some years back in controversial circumstances to open his personal miracle centre is back in the spotlight, again for the wrong reasons.
By the feelers reaching us this time, then the self acclaimed Evangelist should not even be walking the street a free man. At the very least this man should have spent some time in a police lock-up facility. The fact that we still have people like Ephraim Ononye in the priestly frock is a slap on christian faith. The more I look at him, the more I’m convinced that judgement will start from the house of God.
I have always known the evangelist to be controversial but not even the knowledge prepared me for the side of the story I heard last week.
On Saturday 17th June, this month, a young lady from Okposi told a rather stunning story of how the evangelist almost deceived her into having intimate sexual affair, by tricking her into his hotel room after a crusade programme during which he made abortive attempts to rape her. She recounted how the prophet dipped his hands into her bra and grabbed her breasts. She told me how she struggled, pleaded, and wept uncontrollably, until the prophet had no choice but to unseal the already locked door to avoid drawing attention to the room. After the ordeal, he offered her money to silence her which she vehemently rebuffed, and ran out still shocked to the bones.
The young lady said she later reported the attempted assault to her Pastor and church officials who confronted and cautioned Ononye seriously over the incident. I shudder to even contemplate what transpires behind closed doors during his numerous prayer sessions with different categories of ladies in his ministry.
Evangelist Ephraim Ononye, aka High Tension Corner and Gods Battle Axe gained popularity back in 2005 when he dared Ogwugwu Ndorohia, a deadly shrine in Uli, Ihiala LGA of Anambra state, and his unilateral adventure yielded positive result as priest of the deadly shrine surrendered to Christ, along with his instruments of devilish acts. The fame and popularity the daring act gave him has made him a big time entreprenuer in church business ever since. Many have claimed to be healed through handkerchiefs that has been prayed over by the man and given to those who are unable to physically attend his church in Abakaliki. Top contractors, businessmen, barren women, the sick and downtrodden troop to his church to seek one miracle or the other or some other forms of spiritual assistance. This has made him become too blotted with arrogance too.
His show of arrogance reached its peak when he dared the Bishop of Abakaliki Anglican Communion by rejecting his new posting by the church leadership.
His sojourn into full time church business however started when the the Anglican Communion of Abakaliki Diocese evicted him from the All Saints Anglican Cathedral in Abakaliki as a result of insurbodination and anti church activities. Thereafter he came up with Power House Interdenominational ministry. The evangelist who speaks with a tongue coated with honey wasted no time in filling up his church auditorium with miracle seeking worshippers.
These unsuspecting church folks who are gullible clones of his fraudulent ministry have gifted him into riches overnight. Today, his flourishing miracle centre has afforded him lavish fleet of flashy automobiles, in addition to various houses scattered across the state capital.
Typical of Ononye, he doesn’t stay away from controversy for too long. Mr Ononye has continued to make headlines in different criminal cases, the very ones that he so fervently preached against with his fire and brimstone deliveries from his bully pulpit. He has been fingered in one dirty scandal after another which is capable of dragging the name and body of Christ in the mud.
As a priest, he has stripped himself of every modicum of dignity and caused monumental embarrassment to his kind. Around 2010, the Police in Anambra issued an arrest warrant on him following his suspected involvement in two kidnap cases. How he managed to hush the case and pacify the police, I have no idea.
The most damaging scandal to meet the fleeing kidnap suspect was the death of two members of his church later in 2016 during a healing session, after they drank a concoction he offered them. Expectedly, he produced an intense rebuttal to the murder incident that exonerated him.
I fear to say that the church of Christ is now littered with small men in cloth with huge egos. Hence, this article is borne out of the pathological need to resist wolves in sheeps clothing who spit on the word of God; pompous empty ineffectual vessels and end time prophets preoccupied with selfish motives.
Ononye was yet again at the centre of controversy last year when the entire body of Divine Mandate pastors in the 13 local government areas in Ebonyi state unanimously passed a vote of no confidence on him and inaugurated a new leadership in the state with Pastor Ifeanyi C Igwe as chairman and Ernest Anayo as secretary.
The reason for the change were on account of his general misconduct and unruly behaviour. They alleged that the man is arrogant, autocratic, hostile and worst is that he abuses pastors of Ebonyi state origin that they are hungry pastors.
They alleged that two chances given to them by the state govt for pilgrimage to Jerusalem last year was hijacked on the way by Evang Ononye. He gave one to his wife and gave one to one of his partners. He arrogantly told anyone who asked off.
This kind of attitude was responsible for his transfer from the All Saints Anglican Cathedral, Abakaliki to a rural area. Apparently dissatisfied by the churchs decision, Ononye established his worship centre located in Oroke Onuoha, Mile 50, Abakaliki. There he perfected his act of fraud. Ononye has become a guest of the Nigerian police several times.
Apart from his lies, the cleric is an inverterate wife beater. In fact he will be a perfect match for Muhamned Ali if he encountered him in the boxing ring. He was said to have battered his wife and turned her into punching bag more times than one, prompting her to run to the anglican Bishop repeatedly for refuge.
May I aptly clarify that his confessions of blatant lies against the state governor is not the reason for this article. It’s not about name calling too. It’s about unveiling the multiple faces of a dubious cleric. It is about the ease at which he fabricate lies and throw them to our faces without any form of guilt. The dirty pictures being painted by Evangelist Ononye against the state government are simply the rantings of a sinking man.
However, when one summons the moral courage to write an article of
the most overwhelming response would be to judge him with Mathew 7:1. “Judge not that ye may not be judged.” This is because it is a particularly exaseperating taboo in this part of the world to criticize a priest. But I pray many readers would understand the spirit of the piece, which is, quite simply, to expose evil in all its forms and appearances. There’s a hint of a positive redeeming value at the heart of it.
Its time for people to wake up and hold their pastors accountable to ethical and upright moral character not offer up excuses and defences on their behalf. It’s time to break this tradition of silence. Evangelist Ononye’s overt desire and covert antics to outsmart the government and people of Ebonyi state would surely be vehemently resisted.
