Fake clerics, hate preachers and political operatives are exploiting a regulatory vacuum, and ordinary Nigerians are paying the price.
By AbdulQuadir Abdulwahid
The Paradox of Unfettered Religious Freedom
Nigeria is a multi-ethnic, multi-religious state where the constitution ensures that citizens are afforded basic human rights, including religious rights, yet these rights remain unregulated in principle and practice. The 1999 Constitution, by Section 10, prohibits the adoption of any religion as a state religion, establishing Nigeria as a secular state. However, this constitutional secularism has not translated into regulatory competence over the conduct of religious functionaries.
The consequence is a paradox: the freedom to worship has been conflated with the freedom to exploit. Any individual, regardless of theological training, moral standing or intent, can today declare himself a cleric, establish a congregation and wield influence over thousands. The result has been catastrophic.
I have spent years studying this phenomenon, and I can tell you that what we are witnessing is not a failure of religion itself but a failure of accountability. Religion has become a business, and the currency is the desperation of the vulnerable.
The Crisis of Unqualified and Fraudulent Clerics
The Proliferation of Fake Clerics
Across Nigeria, there has been a documented proliferation of individuals posing as religious leaders without any legitimate theological training or moral accountability. The evidence is overwhelming.
In Anambra State, the government arraigned eight alleged fake pastors before the State High Court in Awka for violations of the Anambra State Homeland Security Law 2025, which prohibits staging fake miracles and exploiting the public under the guise of religion. The administration of Governor Soludo had launched a crackdown on suspected fake pastors who allegedly exploit residents on the pretext of religion.
The suspects, Peter Chukwu, Chinedu Egwuonwu, Bishop Emeka Nwankpa, Ebele Nnachukwu and others, had been operating with impunity, staging fake miracles and spiritual interventions to gain the trust of victims. Some of these pastors worked with agents who procured persons paid to pretend they had been healed or delivered.
In Ondo State, police arrested six suspected fake pastors involved in an alleged miracle scam in Idanre. The arrested individuals were identified as Fadahunsi, Kolade, Tijani, Iyanuoluwa, Arijesulola and Ademola. These were not isolated incidents. They were part of a systemic pattern of deception that has become embedded in Nigeria’s religious culture.
But this is not only a Christian problem. The Muslim community has its own share of charlatans. In December 2019, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested a fake Muslim cleric, Mallam Abdulrashid Imam, over allegations of fraud to the tune of N3 million and $24,000. The petitioner, Mohammed Dewu, alleged that the fake cleric fraudulently collected money from him, claiming to have the supernatural ability to impart Qur’anic knowledge to him through the aid of Jinns.
Dewu was made to purchase two bottles of perfume at N70,000 each, one bottle of special perfume at N160,000, and another bottle of perfume for the treatment of his mother’s leg at N550,000. He was further made to pay for a set of 60 perfumes to activate the Qur’anic verses that would be implanted into his brain by spiritual means at N1,680,000, two mobile phones and SIM cards at N20,000, and 30 buckets of honey that would enable him to transfer the Qur’anic verses to his brain at N900,000. When the EFCC arrested Abdulrashid, they recovered a fake blank Qur’an and keys to the room he had been using to con the victim.
In June 2025, two self-proclaimed Islamic clerics were arraigned before the Federal High Court in Lagos for allegedly duping a medical doctor of N280 million under the guise of performing spiritual prayers on the money. Saheed Atanda Aremu, 44, and Tolani Osuolale, 48, allegedly convinced Dr. Patrick Eloka Akaraiwe to hand over $200,000 in three tranches, claiming the money had to be spiritually “fortified” before it could be safely used to buy property or else the doctor would face an untimely death.
An Islamic scholar and Vice-Chancellor of Ahman Pategi University, Prof. Mahfouz Adedimeji, put it bluntly when he told Sunday PUNCH that some fake persons masquerading as Imams were giving the religion a bad name. “It is true but disheartening that fake leaders and pseudo-clerics are posing as scholars of Islam these days,” he said. “Anyone with some cheap data on social media can claim what he is not and still gain the following of the confused or ignorant lot.”
The Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) has itself acknowledged the problem. Its Executive Secretary, Prof. Cornelius Omonokhua, warned that “the wrong concept of God can produce fake, professional and accidental pastors and imams who mislead their followers with hate speeches.” He described such individuals as serving interests that “weaponise religion, ethnicity and poverty for personal gains.”
The Absence of Certification Standards
Nigeria currently lacks any national framework for certifying clerics. No statutory body exists to verify theological training, assess moral standing or evaluate the content of religious teachings before they are disseminated to the public. This regulatory vacuum stands in stark contrast to other professions: medical practitioners, lawyers, teachers and even motorists must demonstrate competence before being licensed to operate. Yet those who claim to speak on behalf of the Almighty operate without any accountability.
Some states have taken unilateral action. Niger State introduced a law requiring preachers to submit their sermons for approval and obtain certification from the State Bureau for Religious Affairs. Governor Umar Bago defended the measure, stating: “I didn’t ban evangelism. For anybody going to sermon on a Friday, he should bring his scriptures for review and it’s normal.”
The Director-General of the Niger State Religious Affairs agency confirmed that clerics must fill forms, face a screening panel and be certified before they could preach publicly. The Bureau clarified that clerics “are only required to obtain certification and undergo a basic evaluation to ensure their messages align with peace and religious tolerance.”
Yet such state-level initiatives remain fragmented and constitutionally contested, highlighting the need for a coherent national framework.
The Consequences of Unregulated Religious Activity
Religious Violence and Loss of Life
The most devastating consequence of unregulated religious activity is the violence it has enabled. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), in its 2026 annual report, described Nigeria as facing an “unfolding catastrophe,” with religious-based violence claiming at least 53,000 lives since 2009. In the last five years alone, 21,000 lives have been lost to religious violence, which has also forced millions to flee their homes.
USCIRF attributes this crisis to “a lethal confluence of trends,” including “religiously motivated extremist violence and economic and ethnic tensions,” compounded by “corrosive, state-level blasphemy laws” and “years of both inadequate response and pervasive corruption within the Nigerian government.”
Since 2009, over 52,000 Christians and roughly 34,000 moderate Muslims have been killed by extremist groups, with 19,000 churches attacked. Between July 2024 and July 2025 alone, over 500 Christians were killed, 208 abducted and 479 attacks on houses recorded. These are not abstract statistics; they represent fathers, mothers and children whose lives were extinguished by ideologies propagated from unregulated pulpits.
Hate Speech as a Tool of Division
Hate speech emanating from religious platforms has become a significant driver of communal tension. The National Human Rights Commission called for the immediate arrest and prosecution of Sheikh Yahaya Jingir over hate speech and incitement to religious hatred ahead of the 2027 general elections. The Commission’s intervention followed the circulation of a viral video containing inflammatory statements, statements that, in a less regulated environment, would have continued to spread unchecked.
The case of Sheikh Abduljabbar Nasir Kabara in Kano is particularly instructive. A professor of Islamic political thought at Maitama Sule University, Umar Labdo, told Vanguard that Abduljabbar “claims to be an Islamic scholar but his ways are divisive.” Labdo was unequivocal: “I can tell you authoritatively that Abduljabbar is a charlatan. I can’t even call him a scholar because he doesn’t understand the Qur’an. Everybody will tell you that whenever he quotes from the Qur’an, he makes grave mistakes.” Abduljabbar was banned by the Kano State government for preaching inciting messages, and Labdo warned that he was the kind of person who, if left unchecked, “could grow to be another Maitasine, another Muhammad Yusuf.”
In Katsina State, the government summoned Quranist preacher Yahaya Ibrahim Masussuka to appear before an Ulamas’ committee following complaints that his teachings allegedly breached “the general principles of Islamic law.” Masussuka debunks all prophetic sayings and calls the famous Hadith reporters liars. Some scholars have labelled his stance as “clever bait to catch gullible, ignorant followers.”
On the Christian side, the National Human Rights Commission and NIREC have both raised alarms about pastors who preach hate and engage in political campaigns from the pulpit. NIREC called on the EFCC to arrest pastors and imams who “publicly preach hate or carry out political campaigns in the Churches and Mosques to extort money from partisan politicians.”
The Juju Economy Hidden in Plain Sight
Perhaps the most disturbing dimension of this crisis is the extent to which both Christian and Muslim clerics have embraced occult practices, what Nigerians commonly call “juju,” while claiming to represent God.
Rev. Fr. Kelvin Ugwu, a Catholic missionary priest working in Gambia, made headlines in 2025 when he stated that the majority of people who visit native doctors or believe in juju are the same ones found in churches every Sunday. He claimed that “more than 90% of everything Prophet Jeremiah Omoto Fufeyin does, including the sale of water, oil, etc., are juju practices.” He also highlighted practices like taking a photograph of a potential spouse to Shiloh and placing it on the altar so that the person will marry them by “fire by force” as juju.
Fr. Ugwu’s conclusion was devastating: “Christianity is not the problem; your juju mindset is. This is why the version of Christianity most of you practice in Africa is an upgraded version of juju and witchcraft.”
On the Muslim side, a 2022 Vanguard investigation into money rituals quoted Sheikh Nuru Khalid, who acknowledged that money rituals are “promoted by materialistic clerics.” The investigation documented Islamic clerics who write verses of the Qur’an with the blood of animals, including forbidden ones like dogs and pigs, for money rituals, with the belief that the spirit of the deceased person will bring money or fortunes to them.
In 2018, the Ogun State Police arrested two Islamic clerics, Kabiru Badmos and Nurudeen Shodaolu, who undertook to perform a money-making ritual for a client with a human skull and other body parts for N250,000. In 2023, a popular Muslim cleric, Afeez Uthman Imolayo, 43, was arrested for allegedly swindling a Nigerian based in America of N105 million and using spiritual powers to take over the victim’s wife and children.
A 2026 investigation by AllAfrica described this as a “criminal spiritual economy” involving “body-part traders, occult consultants, fraudulent herbalists, rogue clerics, marabouts, fake prophets, criminal shrine operators.” The report noted that these merchants of fear “promise wealth without labor, protection without righteousness, political victory without service, business success without discipline, sexual control without consent and revenge without justice. They prey on greed, desperation, ambition, insecurity and ignorance.”
Political Instrumentalization of Religion
The weaponization of religion for political ends has become increasingly brazen. The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) warned that the growing use of religious platforms for political mobilization could threaten Nigeria’s democracy, with religious leaders allowing their platforms to be used for political patronage. Political actors were accused of using religion to manipulate and suppress voters instead of engaging on substantive issues, with religious leaders being used to turn pulpits into platforms for wooing voters and mobilizing political support.
The reported endorsement of a presidential candidate for a second term by the Charismatic Bishops Conference of Nigeria exemplified this trend, drawing criticism from political analysts who noted that such endorsements blur the line between spiritual authority and partisan politics. The Electoral Act 2026 expressly prohibits the use of places of worship for political campaigns and campaigning on religious grounds, yet enforcement remains weak in the absence of a dedicated regulatory body.
The Legislative Response: The National Religious Harmony Commission
The Bill’s Provisions
Recognizing the regulatory deficit, the National Assembly has twice considered legislation to establish a National Religious Harmony Commission (NRHC). The bill, co-sponsored by the Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, and the Chairman of the House Committee on Rules and Business, Hon. Hassan Fulata, seeks to provide a statutory framework for the protection of fundamental human rights as they relate to religious freedom and liberty.
Clause 5 of the proposed bill empowers the Commission to monitor, investigate and prosecute all cases of religious discrimination, victimisation and harassment; undertake studies on religious rights and practices; detect early warning signals of speeches or acts that can trigger religious tension; and publish regular reports on the state of religious rights protection in Nigeria. Critically, the Commission would be empowered to “monitor and investigate all cases of religious extremism, hate speeches and utterances meant to incite religious violence and prosecute persons responsible for such hate speeches.”
The Case for Certification
While the NRHC Bill addresses monitoring and prosecution, it does not explicitly establish a certification regime for clerics. This report argues that certification must be central to any regulatory framework. As demonstrated by the Niger State model, a certification process that requires clerics to fill forms, face a screening panel and demonstrate basic theological competence would serve as a critical filter against fraudulent practitioners.
The Anglican Communion in Nigeria has already established a Theological Accreditation and Regulatory Board to regulate admission, curriculum and overall quality of theological colleges. This internal denominational initiative demonstrates that the principle of certification is not alien to Nigerian religious practice; it merely needs to be extended and standardized across all faiths.
Comparative Models: Lessons from Other Jurisdictions
A comparative analysis of Nigeria with Tunisia, Algeria, Turkey and Kazakhstan reveals that multi-religious states must balance the protection of religious rights with the public interest. The study concludes that “the current legal approach without further legislative intervention on religious issues will be inadequate to address the problem.”
In Saudi Arabia, as Governor Bago noted, sermon review and cleric licensing are standard practice. Turkey maintains a Directorate of Religious Affairs that oversees the training and appointment of clerics. Even in secular Western democracies, chaplaincies in public institutions require accreditation and oversight.
Nigeria’s constitutional secularism does not preclude regulation; it simply prohibits the establishment of a state religion. Regulating the conduct of religious functionaries to prevent harm is not an establishment of religion. It is the fulfilment of the state’s duty to protect its citizens.
Recommendations
Based on the evidence presented, this report makes the following recommendations:
Conclusion
Nigeria cannot continue to pretend that unregulated religious activity is a purely private matter. The evidence is overwhelming: fake clerics exploit the vulnerable, hate preachers incite violence, and political operatives weaponise faith for partisan gain. From the eight pastors in Anambra staging miracles with hired actors to the fake Alfa in Kaduna selling perfumes and honey to implant Qur’anic verses in a man’s brain, from Sheikh Abduljabbar’s divisive preaching in Kano to Prophet Sunday Koboko’s N70 million fraud in Lagos, the pattern is unmistakable and the cost is borne by ordinary Nigerians.
The constitutional guarantee of religious freedom was never intended to shield charlatans from accountability or to permit the destruction of communal peace in the name of God. When a man can call himself an Imam and use juju to defraud a doctor of N280 million, or when a pastor can sell “miracle water” while secretly practicing the same occultism he condemns from the pulpit, the line between faith and fraud has been crossed.
The time for action is now. The National Religious Harmony Commission, coupled with a robust certification framework, offers a path towards restoring integrity to Nigeria’s religious landscape. The alternative, continued inaction, will only deepen the crisis that has already claimed tens of thousands of lives and left millions more spiritually and financially wounded.
