Ex-prisoner becomes fire brand preacher

bibing

Reformation of prisons inmates through evange­lism to comple­ment government’s effort in that direction has become one of the greatest pre-oc­cupations of some churches in the South East. One of the organizations well pronounced in this business of reformation, El-Shaddai Police and Prison Evange­lisitc Ministry a couple of days ago stormed Aguata Federal Prisons, Ekwulobia in Aguata Local Govern­ment Area of Anambra State.

With a cream of annointed men and women of God including an ex-prioner who is now a fire brand Evangelist after he became born again 26 years ago, the inmates were visibly noticed respond­ing positively to the call to accept Christ as their Lord and personal saviour during the one-day crusade. They expressed their willingness to repent, drop their past and become new craetures when Evangelist Igbokwe, the co-cordinator of the ministry in Nnewi zone made an alter call at the conclusion of his sermon.

Virtually all the inmates whose age brackets would be in the region of 18 and 30 years except for very few who might be a little above that rushed to the improvised alter in the prison yard, going down on their knees to be prayed for.

Evangelist Igbokwe’s preaching was anchored on his own prison experience at the Kirikiri Maximum Prison where he was put behind the bars in 1985 because of his involvement in criminal activities. He told them how power of iniquity was control­ling him then, always having the urge to commit crime in high magnitude before he was arrested and imprisoned. He regained his freedom and was subsequently “arrested” by the Holy Spirit to work in the Lord’s vineyard.

“That you are here today does not mean the end of your lives. It is not by ac­cident that you are facing this situation now. Now my story has changed. That God that changed my story will visit you one by one, in Jesus’ name, Amen. No security agent can stop me now when I’m preaching because they could not stop me when I was serving the devil.

“You are not responsible for your sins, incaceration and situation you find yourselves today,” Evangelist Igbokwe told them. Quoting portions from the Book of Romans, he reminded them that the problem they had was that the things they hated doing were the things they saw them­selves doing, telling them that not they that committed those offenses but the devil that dwelt in them. He prayed that the names of the inmates would be cancelled in the Book of death and be written in the Book of life.

Evangelist Igbokwe nar­rated how he surrendered his life to Jesus in 1989 at the Oko Polytechnic, Anambra State and became born again. He explained that physical imprisonment is not the mat­ter but spiritual incaceration which he reckoned to be the greatest affliction any man could encounter. He prayed for God’s mercy onto the in­mates and every other person spiritually imprisoned.

Earlier, Pesident of the as­sociation, Evangelist Clement Okoli had urged the inmates to be prayerful. He told them that God knew that they were there in the prisons and would not abandone them.

Evangelist Okoli revealed wiles of the devil to the inmates which included us­ing alchohol, women, drug, money to trap those who were never prayerful “because Satan knows the power in prayer and always afraid of the gospel.”

“ If you leave the prison, don’t fail to worship God and always pray against the spirit of fornication, Indian hemp, alchohol or anything that could make you loose your sense of judgement accord­ing to the will of God. Pray without ceasing,” Evangelist Okoli advised them.

He said that Pharoah in the Bible increased the burden of the Isrealites so that they would not leave for the Promised Land. He drew an analogy, saying that Satan had in the same manner increased the burden of humanity which he said had made a lot of poeple face vainglory without remembering their Creator. He later declared healing and deliverance to the inmates which received a thunderous Amen from the hosts.

“The El-Shaddai Police Prison Evangelistic Ministry Incorporated is vision given to us by God in January, 2006. We received this inspiration from the Holy Spirit that we should be praying and preaching in Nigerian prisons yards, pray for people in police cells, hospitals and our society generally. We are now covering many police stations and prison yards in Nigeria,” Okoli said.

He told his listeners that a lot of testimonies had been flowing in since the inception of the ministry. Some of the testimonies, according to him, were inmates released on bail, discharged and acquitted and the sick being healed after a single ministration “as it hap­pened in Awka prisons.”

One of the key play­ers in the crusade, Apostle Lawrence Emerum proph­esied to the prisoners that some of their cases would be cancelled, adding “you will be discharged and acquit­ted and some of you will go home to become pillars of their families.”

Apostle Emerum enjoined them to forgive all those who had wronged them or master­minded their incaceration and later prayed for the inmates for God’s forgiveness.

“Human government has imprisoned you, let divine government set you free. May your names be cancelled in the book of death and written in the book of life. Let God visit you one by one,” Apostle Emerum interceded while the inmates were still on their knees, some of them shedding tears and at the same time chorousing endless Amen, Amen.

Pastor Ogonna Iloka, state co-ordinator had ealier fired his own prayers that nearly shook the foundations of the prison yard. He had thereafter told them that the best thing that would happen to any one of them is to accept Jesus as their Lord and personal saviour.

Pastor Iloka told them that all that God wanted from them is obedience to the word of God, saying if they could do that they should simply expect God’s miracle.

“God has never changed. He remains the same forever. If you can obey and live your life for Christ, those miracles that happened to Paul and Silas, Peter and other apostles can happen to you,” Pastor Iloka assured them.

Some of the prisoners testified the goodness of Jesus already in their lives since they were put out of circulation. One of them, Uchenna Ekwem said it was true that they were in prison, he described it as rather being in training.

He said when they were in the “world” they were always having the urge to destroy “but anyone who does that after this training must be mentally sick.”

Ekwem said some of them go to court and get dis­charged. He said no death had been recorded in the prison for a long time “and we feed very well here courtesy of many churches who visit us with some goodies and as you can see we are looking healthy.”

Another testifier said he landed in prison in 2012 for a case of kidnapping and armed robbery but miraculously his case has been reduced to mere stealing.

On what the inmates need­ed, Nwankwo Chizoba who spoke on their behalf said one of their most essential needs was medication. He said if not for the churches and other organizations that visit them, things would have been very critical for the inmates. He said they also needed toilato­ries and television set to know what happens in the outside world.

Responding to the min­istry’s kind gesture, the As­sistant Comptroller of Prisons in charge of Aguata Prisons, Mr Pascal Ibegbulem who was represented by Assistant Supretendent of Prisons, Mr Oti Kenneth thanked the orga­nization for its kindness to the prisoners.

There were other men of God present including Rev Christian Ezennaya who is the Ekwulobia chapter co-ordinator of the ministry.