Cleric Accuses Cult Group of Blackmail, Circulating Doctored Nude Photos in Ebonyi

|By Chinwendu Nwani

ABAKALIKI — The General Overseer of Champion Cathedral, Abakaliki, Professor Bishop Sam Onyeagoziri Ndubueze, has accused members of a local cult group of orchestrating a smear campaign against him through blackmail, threats, and doctored nude images.

Ndubueze told journalists on Friday that the intimidation began after he publicly condemned the activities of the Omabe masquerade on his community’s WhatsApp platform. His criticism, he said, triggered a barrage of threats from cult members who vowed to “deal with” him.

The cleric revealed that on September 1, 2025, his phones were stolen in Abakaliki. At first, he considered it an ordinary theft, until anonymous callers demanded ₦10 million to suppress what they described as damaging information about him. “They told me I would be sent packing from Abakaliki if I refused to comply,” he said.

Soon after, manipulated nude photographs allegedly involving him surfaced on WhatsApp and Facebook. Ndubueze insisted the images were fabricated using artificial intelligence. “Those pictures were taken from my traditional wedding thanksgiving years ago. They used my face to create something entirely false,” he explained.

He further clarified that some photos retrieved from his stolen phone belonged to a 26-year-old woman who once lived with him. According to the cleric, the woman, then a victim of sexual harassment, had sent him her pictures for safekeeping. “None of her nude pictures had me beside her. What is trending online is a manipulation,” he said.

Ndubueze urged security agencies to investigate the case and bring the perpetrators to justice.