A 21st Century Resurrection Hoax

A 21st Century Resurrection Hoax
By Leo Igwe
On December 2, 2001, a miracle was reported to have happened in Nigeria . Daniel Ekechukwu, a pastor in a local church, was allegedly raised from the dead by the German evangelist, Reinhard Bonnke, of Christ for all Nations (CfAN) at a crusade in Onitsha in Southern Nigeria //home.comcast.net/~neardeath/nde/001_pages/95.html.The incident has been documented in a DVD, Raised from the Dead: A 21st Century Miracle Resurrection Story and produced in different languages — English, Spanish, Portuguese, French etc.According to the story, Rev Ekechukwu was involved in a car accident in Onitsha while returning from his village. He hit his chest on a steering wheel and sustained injuries to his head and chest. He was taken to Charles Borromeo Hospital, where he was placed under intensive care. As the wife Nneka narrated, Rev Ekechukwu, at one point regained some consciousness and requested that he be taken tohis private physician — Dr Umezuruike in Owerri — around 80 kilometers from Onitsha, if they did not want him to die. Daniel was discharged from the hospital, and on their way to Owerri he started having breathing problems. He urged the wife to take care of the children and the ministry. In Owerri, Rev Ekechukwu was taken to the Federal Medical Centre, but they couldn’t attend to him. He was later taken to St Eunice Clinic in Akwakuma, where Dr Josse Annebunwa pronounced him dead.The body of Daniel was taken away and deposited at a mortuary in Ikeduru near Owerri. The mortician, Barlington Manu, said he wanted toembalm the body but desisted due to some unusual manifestations and experiences. He was pushed away and one of his hands was frozen. On December 2, family members came and collected the body of Daniel. The wife claimed that God directed her to take the husband’s body to Reinhard Bonnke’s Crusade in Onitsha .They took the body to the crusade ground, and after some massaging and praying, Daniel came back to life. When he got up, he was asking for his file — which he said contained some messages, which God said he should deliver to the world. According to Rev Ekechukwu two angels took him to paradise where he saw a multitude of worshipping people in white garment, then to the mansion which Jesus promised his followers, and at last to the gate of Hell where he heard awful sounds of people screaming and weeping.
First Investigation: In 2002, I received a copy of the report of the resurrection story
published in the Charisma News Service, (February 20) by Andy Butcher. The report says that Pastor Ekechukwu was “certified dead”, injected with embalming fluid and revived three days later. In April 2002, I traveled to Onitsha to investigate the story. I visited the Church of God Mission International where Rev Bonnke held the crusade, where some church officials confirmed the resurrection story. I also visited the home of Rev Ekechukwu, but he was away. Family members told me that Daniel actually rose from dead. They showed me some pictures of Daniel
while he was lying in a coffin and during his resurrection. As I did not meet or interview Rev Ekechukwu, the physician or the mortician, I based my report on the information received from officials at the church of God Mission International and the family members of Daniel. So my investigation and report were incomplete. Then in March I traveled to Owerri to meet with the physician and the mortician. I went to 108 Orlu Road Owerri, but found that St Eunice Clinic was no longer there. I was told that Dr Josse had moved to a neighbouring town Amakohia. On
getting to Amakohia, I was told that St Eunice Clinic was no longer operating; that Dr Jose Annebunwa took ill (he went blind) and the hospital was closed down. No one knew where the physician was currently staying. In Akwakuma, most people I told about the resurrection story, said they were not surprised that such an incredible incident was associated with Dr
Josse. St Eunice Hospital , they said, was a roadside clinic noted for shady medical practices.
I left for Ikeduru, and after some inquiries, located Inyishi Community Hospital Mortuary. I met with the mortician, Barlington Manu, who confirmed that the body of Daniel was brought and deposited at the hospital mortuary late on November 30, 2001. He said on two occasions he tried to embalm the body of Daniel, but was pushed away. So he decided to abandon the process. In the night, he said, he heard some people singing as in a church and when he came out, he
noticed that the singing was coming from the direction of the mortuary. As he approached the mortuary the singing stopped. He went into the mortuary, flashed his torch toward
the section where the body of Rev Ekechukwu was lying, but the torchlight ceased. He looked at the body of Daniel and noticed that the face had turned white. Out of fear and nervousness, he left the mortuary, and resolved to get in touch with the family of Rev Ekechukwu so that they could come and collect his body. On the morning of December 2, family members came to take Daniel’s body away. The wife said that God revealed to her in a dream to send the
body of her husband to Reinhard Bonnke’s crusade in Onitsha for prayers. The mortician said he
couldn’t believe this, thus he joined them in the ambulance that conveyed the body to the crusade ground where, after some prayers, and massaging, Daniel came back to life. I asked Mr Manu if he had had this kind of experience before. He narrated the case of a woman whose corpse was being conveyed home in an ambulance for burial. At some point the woman came out of the
casket and sat on it. He said it took a lot of pleading and incantation for the woman to get back into the casket. Such stories are not uncommon in Nigeria, and they are all based on
fear, superstition, occultism and spiritual nonsense. Mr Manu is not a formally trained mortician. He dropped out of school and lacks basic knowledge of medical science. Like most morticians in Nigeria , he learnt to embalm corpses using the traditional method, which is an admixture of herbs and occultic rituals. But, nowadays, Mr Manu said he mixes some chemicals to
produce the concoctions he uses for embalmment. And more so that he had given his life to Christ. He refused to tell me the name of the chemicals he uses for embalmment.
Was Daniel’s Body Embalmed?
One of the most contentious issues about Daniel’s death and resurrection is the embalmment. There are conflicting reports as to whether the body was embalmed or not. The CfAN says the body was prepared for embalmment. home.comcast.net/~neardeath/nde/001_pages/95.html
The mortician told me that Daniel’s body was not embalmed. He said when he wanted to pierce the right femoral artery to inject the embalming fluid, he was pushed away. That he injected some embalming concoctions into the fingers and toes. Medical experts say that this cannot constitute embalmment. But Reinhard Bonnke claims that Daniel’s body was embalmed. www.cbn.com/700club/features/ bonnke_raisedpastor.aspx In the video, Rev Paul Sr of the Church of God Mission claimed that he perceived the smell of embalming fluid when Rev Ekechukwu came to visit him after his resurrection. Pastor Ekechukwu also said something similar www.greaterthings.com/Polemic/Daniel_Ekechukwu_Resurrection_Hoax/ index.html And if the body of Daniel was not embalmed where was embalming smell from? I asked the mortician why without
embalmment, the body of Daniel did not smell over 40 hours after his death. He told me that it happens whenever people do not die a natural death as in the case of Rev Ekechukwu.
The Reasons Behind the Miracle.
Rev Daniel Ekechukwu resurrection story is filled with many gaps, flimsy excuses and suspicious missions and commissions, as in all cases of miracle. Everything that transpired, from the time he was discharged from Charles Borromeo hospital — at his request — untill he was ‘resurrected’, seems to have been engineered and manipulated to produce this miracle. A critical look at the story reveals why this miracle happened at all. It is that reason why Rev Ekechukwu asked to be discharged from the hospital where he was said to be under intensive care, and be taken to a private physician far away in Owerri. Anyone who knows Onitsha very well would agree that somebody in a critical health condition who asks to be discharged from Charles Borromeo Hospital and be taken to a private hospital in Owerri must have a skeleton in his cupboard —
this time a skeleton of a miracle. Mind you, it was on the way to Owerri that two angels came and
lifted Daniel up to heaven and hell. And they never brought him back till he resurrected in Onitsha.That is the same reason why Daniel was not admitted at the Federal Medical Centre in Owerri or at any other reputable hospital in the city. It was only at a backstreet hospital that he was confirmed dead. And this is not unconnected with the reason why the mortician could not
embalm Rev Ekechukwu’s body and why the body was not smelling — had not started decaying — two days after his death. The reason behind this miracle is the same reason why God revealed to Daniel’s wife that she should take the body of the husband, not to any church in
Owerri, but to Bonnke’s crusade in Onitsha — a city where Daniel was serving as a local pastor. And it should not be unrelated to the reason why Daniel’s ‘corpse’ — and no other dead body— was ushered into the crusade venue for prayers. It is the same reason behind all instances of resurrection — of Lazarus, Jesus and other real or mythical figures in history. It is the same reason why miracles happen — ignorance, superstition, unreason, blind faith, gullibility, deceit, dishonesty, occult nonsense, foolishness and fraud. In conclusion, I totally agree with Sterling D. Allan www.greaterthings. com/Polemic/Daniel_Ekechukwu_Resurrection_Hoax/index.html that Rev
Daniel Ekechukwu’s ‘back from the dead’ story is a hoax drummed up by some smart and control freak ministers in Nigeria to delude the world. ‘Raised from the Dead’ is a typical case of a 21st Century resurrection scam. It is sad and unfortunate that Rev Bonnke and his ministry (CfAN) are marketing this piece of Christian skullduggery to promote their mission in Africa.
What a shame.

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