Residents of Ibeagwa Aka community in Igboeze South Local Government Area of Enugu State were in joyful mood as officials of the state government bulldozed a house said to belong to one Prophet Chinedu Solomon Ezedike, a self-proclaimed man of God, who was arrested for allegedly buying four children beneath the foundation of his church.
It was gathered that Governor Peter Mbah had ordered the demolition of the building over the tragic discovery of the decomposing bodies of the children, said to be of the same parents.
Ezedike was accused of masterminding the brutal ritual murder of the children in what investigators describe as a twisted attempt to “empower” his ministry and lure followers with supposed supernatural miracles.
The incident occurred in Ibagwa, a community in Nsukka, Enugu State, where Prophet Ezedike founded the Light of God Synagogue Church of Nigeria.
According to eyewitnesses, suspicion first arose after villagers noticed unusual activity around the church site, including late-night movements and tightly guarded access to the foundation area, even before the church walls had been fully erected. As rumors of strange happenings grew, a group of concerned community members took matters into their own hands, leading to the shocking unearthing of the children’s bodies.
The victims—two boys and two girls—were all under the age of ten and reportedly went missing weeks earlier. Their grieving parents, devastated and bewildered, had filed missing persons reports and made public pleas for their safe return, unaware that their children had met such a horrific fate just meters away from their own community.
Local security personnel, alerted by the villagers, cordoned off the site and arrested Prophet Ezedike, who was said to have offered only vague responses during interrogation. Preliminary investigations suggest the alleged ritual was carried out to invoke spiritual powers that would supposedly increase church membership, wealth, and influence—a disturbing trend that mirrors a growing number of cases where religion is used as a cover for barbaric acts.
“The suspect claimed divine instructions led him to do what he did,” a security official involved in the case disclosed. “He believed the sacrifice of innocent souls would bring signs and wonders to his ministry.”
Authorities have since launched a full-scale investigation, with forensic teams examining the site and law enforcement vowing to leave no stone unturned. Human rights groups and child protection agencies have condemned the act, calling it a brutal violation of both human dignity and religious integrity.
Members of the community have applauded the state government for demolishing the suspect’s house, saying the building could be used for another horrible acts.