By Francesca Hangeior
A Lagos-based cleric and founder of Heaven’s Gateway Ministries, Apostle Chikere Nwafor, has been accused by her ex-husband, Pastor Martin Ugbulu, of alleged forgery, financial fraud, and pl0tting ag@inst his life, following a protracted dispute over church funds and jointly owned properties in Nigeria and the United Kingdom.
Pastor Martin alleged that his ex wife, Apostle Chikere c0lluded with a surveyor to forge property documents in a bid to take sole ownership of a house they jointly built at Amen Estate, Lagos.
Martin claimed he only discovered that his name was omitted from the property documents when he arrived in Nigeria in November 2024, despite fully funding the house alongside his former wife.
“I trusted her completely because we were married. In marriage, one plus one is one. I had no idea she had criminal intentions to rob me of my investments in Nigeria,” he said.
Beyond the Lagos property, Martin accused the cleric of diverting large sums of money from church transactions in the UK into her personal account.
He alleged that while managing Heaven’s Gateway Ministries in London, she collected at least £100,000 in deposits from two different churches interested in purchasing the ministry’s building, including Church of God Mission, but failed to refund the money when the deals collapsed.
“To show you the kind of criminal behaviour involved, when the church in London was being set up, I helped her to purchase the building. I handled the mortgage process and all related matters.
“After the church started, membership began to dwindle. She became worried and said we might not be able to maintain the building or keep up with the mortgage payments. I suggested that we focus on Nigeria instead and sell the London property.
“We attempted to sell it. I contacted an agent friend who advertised the property. The Church of God Mission, the late Archbishop Idahosa’s church, expressed interest through their resident pastor in London, Pastor Obinna Madubuko. They paid a £50,000 holding deposit toward the purchase.
“By law, because we were a registered charity, such funds should have been kept with the agent or, at worst, paid into the church’s charity account for accountability. Instead, she bulli£d the agent into transferring the money into her personal UK bank account,” he said.
Martin told SaharaReporters that when the buyers could not complete the purchase due to mortgage issues, she insisted that the entire £50,000 should be forfeited.
“I told her this was not done anywhere. At most, a £10,000 penalty, maybe £20,000, would have been reasonable. I refunded £30,000 to them myself. She refused to refund the remaining amount and has still not done so to this day,” he said.
“Later, a pastor named Richard, a Ghanaian pastor at Winners Chapel in London, became involved. He was the same pastor who officiated our wedding. He introduced a fellow Ghanaian prophet as a potential buyer. She again collected £50,000 from this man into her personal account.
“She misled him by claiming that the building’s planning use could easily be converted. Initially, it was under D1 use, which allowed conversion to a church, school, or hospital. Later, it changed to F1, which has stricter classifications. Many boroughs do not allow ordinary commercial buildings to be converted into churches.
“I personally worked with the planning department at Bexley Council, had several meetings with the department head, and learned that they disliked the word “church.” I renamed it “Fellowship,” and that was how we succeeded. However, the Ghanaian pastor insisted on calling it a church and eventually asked for a refund,” Martin stated.
Martin noted that Chikere took both his money and the Church of God Mission’s money to Nigeria and refunded no one.
Martin said, “With no buyers left, the only option was to lease the building. She lied to everyone, including the trustees, that the people I brought (RCCG) were paying £6,000 monthly. That was false. They have been paying her £10,000 monthly, which continues to this day. She then disappeared to Nigeria with the money.
“In addition, there was another smaller building. Someone gave us the remainder of a 13-year lease at no cost. I renovated that building at my own expense. I charged her nothing. I also renovated the larger building without charging her, believing we were one.”
Martin told SaharaReporters that before he travelled to Nigeria, he secured a white woman who runs karaoke and exercise classes for retirees.
He said, “We agreed on £3,000 monthly rent. All these payments go directly to Chikere. Nothing is accounted for or shared. That property costs us nothing; it was given to us free under the remaining lease.