Popular Pastor Busted in Fake Miracle Healing

The founder of Mountain of Liberation and Miracle Ministry, aka Liberation City, Dr Chris Okafor, has come under fire on social media after a video clip showing him performing what appeared like a miracle created a controversy.

The video, posted by Instagram user, nvoguhair, started with a woman saying she needed healing for her stunted right arm.

Okafor told the congregation that the woman saw three people, who pushed her in a dream and when she woke up, she developed the problem.

He asked that the camera focused on the arm, adding that the woman had been told there was no bone in her arm.

“If witches can do this, my God can do better than witches,” he added.

The woman shed tears of pain from the injury, while Okafor said he was retrieving the bones from “the household of witches.”

“Give me the bone; give me her bones,” he said and made some signs, while making a gesture for the hand to return to normal.

As the woman stretched her shrunk hand, the congregation went into jubilation with songs of worship.

However, the same woman was shown in another video clip claiming she had the same problem as another unidentified pastor prayed for her in public.

In the second video, the pastor laid hand on the woman and prayed for her while a crowd supported the prayers with heavy music playing in the background.

As the music turned acrobatic and the prayer intensified, the woman stretched her shrunk hand.

Everyone erupted in celebration of the miracle.

The videos went viral on Thursday and attracted various reactions from many Nigerians.

Some people said the woman had a peculiar “gift” and she was only making money from it.

Popular comedian, Brodashaggi, said the woman was enjoying church contracts.

“See business o. That’s just a talent and pastors are using it to make money. Even the woman too is making money though all na talent,” one anabel_medspa, said on Instagram.

Another Instagram user, shedamsfitness, said everyone would give account of their actions to God on the Judgment Day, urging Christians to test all spirits.

“Naija for show! The Bible is totally complete. Judgement gonna start right from the church,” partypacks_solution3 wrote.

Another user, mr_dbbk, said, “You see every action on camera is scripted. How do these men of God know too well that their prayers will work at once and paid for a good camera man to get full coverage, Work and pray for the result, don’t pray and wait for result. Fake pastors everywhere.”

On Nairaland, one sophy17, said some of the pastors’ members would still defend them despite the videos.

“Not surprised, you suspend the use of your brain the moment you chase miracles as against working to get problems solved or things done,” he wrote.

When our correspondent contacted the church on its official line, a woman who spoke to PUNCH Metro promised to call back after informing the pastor.

A man who claimed to be Okafor’s publicist and identified himself as Sunday Adeyemi, asked that the report be dropped, a request our correspondent declined.

He said the woman at the centre of the drama would be in the church on Sunday and invited our correspondent, refusing to respond to the allegation.

Later, Adeyemi asked that our correspondent write an official letter to the church for its reaction to the video.

However, an official who did not want to be quoted, confirmed that it was the same woman in the two videos.

“The woman was in our church really. But you know in this issue of deliverance, some people could be delivered here and then go back to where they stayed before and the attack would return. That was what happened to the woman,” he said.

He noted that the woman had been “completely delivered” after Okafor prayed for her and she would be in the church on Sunday.