AWKA, ANAMBRA STATE — A High Court sitting in Awka, the Anambra State capital, has convicted and sentenced popular native doctor, Onyebuchi Okocha, widely known as Onyeze Jesus, to six years imprisonment.
The court also slammed the controversial spiritualist with a hefty fine of twenty million naira (₦20,000,000).
The state Commissioner for Information and Value Reorientation, Dr. Law Mefor, confirmed the development to reporters on Friday.
Onyeze Jesus was prosecuted alongside other high-profile native doctors, including Chidozie Nwangwu (alias Akwa Okuko Tiwara Aki) and Ekene Igbonekwu (alias Eke Hit), following a sweeping state crackdown on unauthorized occult practices, ritual activities, and fake miracles.
The Violation of Homeland Security Law
The prosecution’s case was heavily built around provisions of the Anambra State Homeland Security Law. The legislation, initiated under the Governor Charles Soludo administration, explicitly outlaws the propagation and performance of “Oke-Ite” or “Ezenwanyi” practices designed for wealth accumulation through supernatural means.
Under Sections 18 and 19 of the law, individuals found guilty of misleading the public with claims of supernatural riches, or preparing charms that enable criminal elements, face a maximum penalty of six years in prison, a ₦20 million fine, or both.
While his co-defendant, Akwa Okuko, entered into an early plea bargain in February which resulted in a concurrent two-year sentence, Onyeze Jesus faced the full weight of the statutory penalties prescribed by the homeland security framework at the conclusion of his trial.
Government Reaffirms Stance on “Crime Enablers”
Speaking on the state’s judicial victories against fraudulent spiritualists, Commissioner Mefor reiterated that the state government remains resolute in its onslaught against fake pastors, prophets, and rogue native doctors who enable or encourage criminality.
The state government had previously enforced similar judgements by using heavy machinery to demolish shrines linked to convicted ritual practitioners. With the conclusion of Onyeze Jesus’s trial, authorities have signaled that the strict enforcement of the state’s security and value reorientation laws will continue without selective bias.
The convict has been remanded to the Awka Correctional Centre to serve his sentence.
