Police arrest Church leader for detaining wife for days
Story from Hamzat Ibrahim
Police in Rivers State have arrested the leader of the Dynamic Flame of Fire and Miracle Ministries, Prophet Umueke Miracle, for detaining his wife, Success, for five days in a house in the GRA area of Port Harcourt.
Confirming the arrest, the state police commissioner, CP Olugbenga Adepoju, said, “I have told them to take him to the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID). The DC (Deputy Commissioner) will handle it there.”
Prophet Miracle was taken into custody after honouring a police invitation. His arrest followed a police operation led by DPO Abacha, who had earlier rescued Success from the house.
At the scene, CP Adepoju confronted Prophet Miracle over the allegations, but the cleric denied detaining his wife.
When the commissioner requested to speak with Success, Prophet Miracle insisted that he should be addressed first. He later requested to preach in church before reporting to the police station.
The commissioner allowed him to conduct his service but ordered officers to take Success to the station to ensure her safety.
At the station, Success revealed that her husband had restricted her communication and access to family. “Any little thing, he would seize the phone. Everyone in the house does not have a phone because of me, so that I would not get any phone to make calls,” she told the police.
She accused Prophet Miracle of financial control, saying he forbade her from opening a bank account or having personal funds. “We have been married since 2017. Anytime we have issues, he would put me under house arrest.
He made it clear that I should not have my own money or even open a bank account, but he wasn’t giving me money either,” Success told SaharaReporters.
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Success said she secretly opened a bank account and started a small business, but her husband found out through his secretary.
She alleged that Prophet Miracle tricked bank staff into revealing her account balance, which showed ₦5 million. He then accused her of stealing church funds and detained her.
On Tuesday night, Prophet Miracle allegedly forced her into his car and took her to a house in GRA, where he confiscated her phones.
She said, “He lied to the bank staff that he wanted to make a deposit of ₦500 million in the account since I am his wife. This is what made the bank check what I had in the account. They told him my balance.”
Following reports that the pastor had influence over the police, reporters contacted CP Adepoju, who mobilised a team to rescue Success.
Dismissing the allegations of bias, Adepoju said, “I don’t know any pastor. How can I allow someone to be locked inside the house? Am I an animal? How would a commissioner of police allow that?”
He added, “They will say these things so that the situation will look very serious. They will say, ‘Someone is dead,’ and when you rush there, they will admit that nobody died, and say ‘my husband was beating me but if I didn’t say that, the police may not come.’ That is how they tarnish people’s image.
I don’t even know the pastor; they say his name is Pastor Miracle. I’m a very decent human being who was brought up well; I’m not that kind of person.”
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