Seun Kuti sparks debate, calls for 50 year prison sentence for Pastors for ‘fake miracles’

Afrobeat singer Seun Kuti has called on the federal government to introduce legislation regulating miracle claims made by religious leaders, and proposed strict penalties for those who cannot prove such claims.

In a video shared online on Tuesday, Kuti argued that priests who claim to perform miracles should be asked to prove it under controlled medical conditions. He suggested that institutions like the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) could serve as independent verification centres.

“Laws should be created to ensure that no one is allowed to perform miracles, and anyone caught claiming to perform miracles should be sent to prison,” Kuti said, adding that the only exceptions were cases where the claims could be scientifically validated.

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He further proposed that miracle claims be demonstrated repeatedly under expert supervision, citing extreme examples such as restoring sight to individuals who had no eyeballs. According to him, failure to provide verifiable evidence will result in severe consequences, including prison sentences of up to 50 years.

Kuti’s comments have sparked debate in social and religious circles, touching on long-standing tensions between faith-based practices and calls for greater accountability. Nigeria, a deeply religious society, has a large number of churches where testimonies of supernatural healing and intervention are common.