In 2001, Nigerian pastor Daniel Ekechukwu was pronounced dead after a car accident, embalmed and placed in a coffin, but his wife refused to bury him. She took his body to a church in Onitsha where Reinhard Bonnke was preaching, and witnesses reported that Ekechukwu began breathing again and later described visions of heaven and hell.
The Car Crash and Declaration of Death
On November 29, 2001, Ekechukwu and his wife, Nneka, had an argument that ended with Nneka slapping him. The next morning, November 30, he left home in his Mercedes-Benz 230E, still angry. As he drove down a steep hill that evening, the brakes reportedly failed, and the car crashed into a concrete pillar. Not wearing a seat belt, the impact threw his chest against the steering wheel, causing him to vomit blood and struggle to breathe.
Passers-by rushed him to St Charles Borromeo Hospital in Onitsha. His wife was called, and he asked to be transferred to a hospital in Owerri, where his personal doctor practised. Nneka arranged an ambulance for the about 80-kilometre journey. During the trip, Ekechukwu called his wife with final words: "My husband called to me and told me that I should take care of the children and the ministry. He said he had built a house for me and that I should not worry. I should take care of everybody. He said that some people are called to go quickly (to die early) and that he was among them," Nneka told CBN.
Ekechukwu died on the journey. At Eunice Clinic, Dr Jossy Anuebunwa reportedly found no breathing, heartbeat or pulse, with pupils dilated and fixed. A death certificate was issued at 11:30 p.m. on November 30. His body was taken to a mortuary in Ikeduru, near Owerri, shortly after 1 a.m.
The Mortuary and the Wife's Dream
The mortuary reportedly had no cold-storage facilities, so the mortician, Darlington Manu, began embalming the body. Servant documented that Manu injected chemicals into Ekechukwu's fingers and feet and then attempted an incision in his inner thigh. He said he experienced a physical shock and was pushed away from the body. He tried again, and the same thing allegedly happened. The mortician eventually stopped and placed the body with other corpses.
Later that night, Manu reportedly heard what sounded like worship songs from inside the building. When he approached, the singing stopped. He heard it again and, on investigating, noticed what appeared to be a light coming from Ekechukwu's face. Frightened, he asked Ekechukwu's father to remove the body.
Meanwhile, Nneka had a dream in which she saw her husband's face and heard him telling her he was not dead and that she should take him to Onitsha, where Bonnke was preaching. Her family thought she had lost her senses, as Ekechukwu had been dead for more than 28 hours, and his body had reportedly become stiff with rigor mortis. But Nneka insisted, saying: "I began to call on the name of the Lord. I wanted to remind God of His promises. One verse that inspired me was Hebrews 11:35: 'Women received their dead bodies to life.' The moment I read this verse, it strengthened me to hold God firm and act."
The Resurrection in the Church Basement
On Sunday, December 2, 2001, thousands gathered at Grace of God Mission in Onitsha for a church dedication service where Reinhard Bonnke was preaching. The family bought a coffin, dressed Ekechukwu for burial, and an ambulance carried the coffin to the church, arriving about 1 p.m. Security officers initially refused entry, suspecting the coffin could contain explosives, but Nneka opened it to show her husband's corpse. Church leaders allowed the body to be taken downstairs to a basement room.
Upstairs, Bonnke preached, unaware of the dead man below. According to eyewitness accounts, the corpse twitched, and irregular breathing followed. People began massaging his stiff neck, arms and legs. Word spread, the basement filled, and then Ekechukwu sneezed and suddenly rose from the table. The account places this between 3:50 p.m. and 5:15 p.m. on December 2 — roughly 42 hours after he had been pronounced dead.
Years later, Bonnke described the incident to CBN, saying he had been preaching and knew nothing about what was happening below. He acknowledged that Ekechukwu "was embalmed, but not the way it is done in America with the removal of organs."
Visions of Heaven and Hell
Ekechukwu claimed that during the period between his death and reported return to life, two angels appeared, separated his spirit from his injured body, and took him to Paradise, where he saw multitudes in white worshipping before a brilliant light and a heavenly mansion. He was then taken to Hell, where he described darkness, screams and people suffering for their sins. Among those he claimed to see were a former Nigerian military dictator, a pastor who had embezzled church money and a Christian involved in occult practices.
According to Bonnke's account, one of the people shouted to Ekechukwu, "I was a pastor, and I stole money. Help me to return the money." The angel then said, "The prayer of the rich man in Luke 16 will now be fulfilled, and you will be sent back to earth as a last warning to this generation." Ekechukwu was also warned that he could end up there himself, and the angel reminded him of Jesus' teachings about anger and forgiveness, referencing his unresolved anger toward his wife.
Ekechukwu later travelled around Nigeria sharing his testimony, and Christ for All Nations produced a documentary featuring him, his wife, the doctor and the mortician. David Servant published four reports based on interviews conducted in Nigeria in 2002 and 2003. More than two decades later, Ekechukwu is reported to be alive and has continued sharing his account, though the story has never escaped the question of whether he actually died. Servant noted reactions ranging from "total unbelief to serious self-examination," and the medical circumstances were not independently verified beyond the accounts published by Servant, CBN and Christ for All Nations.
