A self-acclaimed prophet and pastor, Destiny Onwudinjo, has committed suicide inside his cell in Kirikiri Maximum Prison, Lagos.
Onwudinjo, who was the founder of Heaven Divine Church, located in the Shasha area of the state, allegedly deliberately hit his head on the wall of the prison, resulting in his death before medical attention could get to him.
The prophet was recently convicted and jailed for seven years for attacking a man who had come to him for deliverance prayer after he refused to pay him the sum of N120, 000.
A source among inmates inside Kirikiri prison disclosed that the incident occurred on Wednesday last week. He, however, added that Onwudinjo died out of frustration. “He hit his head on the prison cell wall several times.
His skull got broken and he fell down and bled to death. Prison officials at Kirikiri prison have refused to say anything on the incident,” the prison source said. Before he was convicted and jailed, Onwudinjo had during his trial at an Ejigbo Magistrate’s Court in Lagos staged a mild drama, when he suddenly jumped out from the dock and ran out of the courtroom.
The prosecutor, Femi Adeleye, and some of the court officials ran after him and rearrested him on the street. His action disrupted the court’s proceedings as other litigants scampered out of the court due to the confusion that ensued.
Prophet Onwudinjo was arrested by the police at Shasha Division for brutalising a commercial motorcycle rider, Chika Izuogu, for refusing to pay him N120, 000, being his bill for offering him deliverance prayer services.
The incident happened at Olukosi Street, Shasha, Lagos, where both of them resided.
According to Izuogu, the prophet told him that he had a revelation from God that he needed to embark on a sevenday deliverance prayer so that his condition would improve.
Enugu State-born Onwudinjo had explained to him that the N120,000 he had asked him to pay covered the cost of the fasting and other spiritual materials required for the deliverance prayer.
To convince Izuogu that he would see the result of the prayers after seven days, he told him that he would receive a divine blessing from God as an unknown person would give him N3 million with which he would start a new life and become rich.
Izuogu, who seemed to be convinced, had told Onwudinjo that he would do the fasting himself because he did not have such amount of money to give him. This caused a disagreement between them and in the process Onwudinjo beat up Izuogu, injuring him.
Izuogu held the prophet and raised the alarm, which attracted neighbours, who contacted the police to arrest him.
After investigation, Onwudinjo was charged to court with attempt to obtain money under false pretence and assault. When he was arraigned, the Presiding Magistrate, Mr. Peter. E. Nwaka, ordered him to be remanded in prison custody at Kirikiri.
The court also directed the prosecutor to prepare another contempt charge against him for escaping from the court. The case had been adjourned till August 1, 2017 for hearing, before the suspect killed himself in Kirikiri Prison last Wednesday.
