The Case That Wouldn't End
In 2015, Godwin Francis Chimobi was arrested in Nigeria on charges that he and his legal team have consistently maintained were fabricated. What should have been a straightforward case turned into a decade-long legal nightmare. One hundred and sixteen court appearances. Delays, adjournments, transferred judges, procedural roadblocks. Ten years of showing up to a courtroom not knowing if this would be the day it ended.
Godwin was in his thirties when it started. His entire adult prime was consumed by a case that seemed designed never to reach a verdict.
Cell Pastor
During the periods of detention, Godwin didn't retreat into himself. He became the pastor of his cell block. He organized prayer meetings. He studied scripture with other detainees. He counseled men who had given up hope. In a Nigerian detention facility where conditions are harsh and morale is low, Godwin became the person who held things together.
"I knew God had not abandoned me," Godwin said. "If He had me in that place, there was a reason. I decided to serve where I was planted."
His family on the outside struggled. Finances were strained. The emotional toll of a case that dragged on for a decade, with no clear resolution in sight, was immense. But Godwin kept showing up. To court. To prayer. To the men around him who needed someone to remind them that God was still paying attention.
"Son of Chosen"
In January 2025, after ten years and 116 appearances, the presiding judge acquitted Godwin Francis Chimobi of all charges. But it was what the judge said that stopped the room. Looking directly at Godwin, the judge called him "son of Chosen," an acknowledgment that went beyond legal terminology. It was a recognition that something more than law had been at work in this man's life.
Godwin wept. His family wept. The courtroom was still.
What This Means for You
One hundred and sixteen times. Godwin showed up to court 116 times over ten years. Most of us would have broken long before number 50. His story isn't about patience as a personality trait. It's about patience as a spiritual practice. Godwin decided early that his faithfulness wouldn't be conditional on the outcome. He served God in the waiting. He served people in the waiting. And when the verdict finally came, even the judge could see that something bigger than the legal system had been holding this man together. If you're waiting for something, for a breakthrough, a resolution, a door to open, Godwin's story says: keep showing up. God counts every appearance.