Allegations of fake miracles: Former Dunamis pastor, Tim Ben responds to claims by Abraham Daniel

A recent podcast clip featuring Mr. Abraham Daniel, a former pastor with Dunamis International Gospel Centre, has stirred controversy after he alleged that the miracles in Dr. Paul Enenche’s ministry were fabricated. The video, which has sparked debates online, claims that the testimonies from the ministry were staged.

In reaction to these allegations, Timothy Chijioke Benedict, a former senior staff member of Dunamis who served in various capacities within the ministry, has issued a detailed statement refuting the claims and providing insights from his personal experience as an insider.

Mr. Benedict, who left Dunamis in September 2019 for a new ministry assignment, clarified that during his tenure as the Head of Media and Publicity and later as Staff Coordinator, rigorous systems were in place to verify testimonies before they were made public. He revealed that the ministry operated a strict vetting process for all testimonies, which included confirming the permanence of healings and obtaining permission from recipients before publishing their stories in official publications like the Seeds of Destiny devotional or church flyers.

I watched a short clip online purported to be an extract of a podcast interview granted by Mr. Daniel Abraham, who was a former Pastor with Dunamis International Gospel Centre. In the said video, Mr. Abraham claimed that the miracles in Dr. Enenche’s ministry were not real. I had wanted to ignore that and pass it as the reaction of an offended person, but on second thought, I owe some simple-minded believers a duty as a former insider to the workings in Dunamis. (I actually do not owe the cynics and critics an explanation; they are at liberty to believe whatever they choose to believe.)

I had the privilege to work very closely with Dr. Paul Enenche in various capacities: accounts clerk, Head at a time of the cafeteria, Head of Media and Publicity, Head of the Editorial Team, Assistant Coordinator of Crusades, and eventually as the Chief of Staff—what we called then as Staff Coordinator for the headquarters before my eventual posting to start a branch of the church.

I know Mr. Abraham to an extent. He was actually a member of staff heading the Production Unit while I held sway as Staff Coordinator. From the Production Unit, he was transferred to pastor a branch of the church in New Karu, if I remember right. Abraham was dedicated, passionate, and creative as the Head of Production Unit. You can’t take that from him. He introduced a lot of reforms and order within the Production Unit of the Church—I will give him credit for that any day. I believe his dedication and creativity were what endeared him to Dr. Enenche. Though it’s common with Dr. Enenche to love and draw close anyone seen to be passionate, dedicated, and dependable in their duty amongst the members of staff, I was a beneficiary of this gesture too.

Whatever happened between Mr. Abraham and the Commission that led to either his sack or resignation, I am not aware. I am not here to hold brief for Dunamis or Dr. Enenche as I believe the Commission has a mechanism to issue a public statement on any issue it considers necessary. But as one who functioned deeply and closely in the area mentioned in the said clip, I consider it morally right to clarify some issues.

Now, it’s important to understand that I left Dunamis in September 2019 for our current assignment, so I have nothing to either gain or lose.

As the Head of Media and Publicity for a couple of years, I had the responsibility to confirm, review, and vet miracles before they were published as testimonies. I also vetted instant miracles during the Worship and Wonders Nights, Healing and Deliverance Services, and at crusade grounds before they were made public. At such live meetings during my day, you could see and hear Dr. Enenche shout from the altar, “Don’t bring him out if he is not healed yet.” You also hear statements like, “Don’t force it, allow God to heal them.”

We had a system then where I called people who got testimonies from live meetings months after to confirm the permanence of their healing before we published them on the then daily devotional called Seeds of Destiny or on flyers. In fact, in most cases, we would seek the permission of the recipients to publish their testimonies—some would oblige, and some would decline.

Now, there are cases where people, on their own, would claim to be healed but after close examination, we would discover that they were only exercising their faith, and such would be dropped and counseled to keep believing until it is perfected. Some would actually get healing from live meetings and eventually lose it after a while due to several factors we may not know, and for such, we cancel the testimonies from our archive.

If there’s anything anyone would accuse Dr. Enenche of, it’s certainly not and would never be the arrangement of miracles. When the ministry was quite young and needed validation, it didn’t occur—is it now that it would? For what intent or purpose? To show power? Or seek validation? He has never claimed that anyone who attends the Healing and Deliverance Service or the crusades must be healed. He leaves the matter solely to God to determine.

Now, imagine where about ten thousand people attended the Healing and Deliverance Service and a hundred get healed. It would also seem as though nothing was done when you consider the ratio. But Dr. Enenche would always say, “No matter how much you spend for a meeting to get just one person saved or healed, it’s worth the investment.”

I know Mr. Abraham is deeply offended for God knows what, but descending to the abysmal level of discrediting the help multitudes have received through the ministry of Dr. Enenche leaves so much to be desired. I don’t think that is humanism.

I would encourage Mr. Abraham to seek a way to sort out whatever the issues are between him and the Enenches or Dunamis in a humanistic manner rather than what he is currently doing. I still love Mr. Abraham and strongly believe that someday, he may come around this and get back into alignment with his first love.

Let peace lead! Let love reign!

Timothy Chijioke Benedict