After months and years of speculations about the state of the
marriage between Christ Embassy Church founder, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome,
and his wife, Rev. Anita Odegwa Oyakhilome, the latter has finally
filed a suit in a London court seeking the dissolution of the union.
In what looks like a messy divorce suit, the wife in the papers
already filed in court is asking for separation on the grounds of
“unreasonable behaviour” and “adultery”. According to a news agency, The Cable,
the divorce case, with Suit No FD14D01650, was filed on April 9, 2014
at Divorce Section A, Central Family Court, First Avenue House, High
Holborn, London, UK, on Anita’s behalf by Attwaters Jameson Hill
Solicitors, a full-service law firm with expertise in commercial law and
a strong consumer focus in family, wills and estate among others.
Frantic efforts made by Saturday Sun to get a reaction from
Oyakhilome’s church headquarters located along Kudirat Abiola way,
Oregun, Ikeja, Lagos, were rebuffed by officials of the church. However,
one of the pastor’s top aides, who manages some of the church’s
business concerns, denied there was any divorce suit in any court.
According to him, “they got married in Nigeria, how will they file a
divorce suit in London? It is not true and it’s not possible. If
anything is filed, it is either in Nigeria here or nowhere else because
both are Nigerians. Even though, the wife may have dual citizenship, her
father is a Nigerian and they both carry Nigerian passports.” He
referred Saturday Sun to the church’s headquarters for further and official comments.
Notwithstanding the church’s denial, Saturday Sun contacted
the law firm of Attwaters Jameson Hill handling the divorce suit.
Enquiries from the firm revealed that Ms Joyti Henchie who heads the
family law team is handling the case. A reply to an initial mail sent to
her official e-mail address yesterday said the lawyer won’t be on her
desk till Monday, September 1. She, however, referred Saturday Sun to
her colleague on duty, Ms Kaylee Pleasance, who after requesting for
the suit number and names of the litigants, confirmed that the law firm
is handling the divorce suit. When asked the next hearing date of the
suit, she said she could not immediately recall but promised to
communicate that next week.
Oyakhilome’s church is regarded as one of the biggest denominations
in Nigeria with membership in thousands and branches all over world.
While Pastor Chris is the president of Believers’ Love World Inc, the
registered name of the church, his wife, Anita is the vice president.
They have two teenage daughters, Sharon and Charlyn. There have been
speculations about the unhealthy state of their marriage in recent years
with the continued absence of Anita from the church in Nigeria.
According to The Cable, “while Anita believes she has been
relegated to the background in the scheme of things in the church, her
husband has reportedly accused her of trying to usurp power and
authority above her seniors in the ministry.”
Though the pastor is reported to have been making efforts to avoid
divorce believing that the wife would eventually have a change of mind,
the divorce document (decree nissi) was reportedly served on him in his hotel room during a recent visit to the UK. Decree nissi,
in legal terms, is like a yellow card in a football match which is a
precursor to a red card (decree absolute) if no new evidence is provided
to stall proceedings. The latter, which will effectively end the
marriage, is expected to be issued in the course of subsequent hearings
during which terms of the divorce will be worked out by the lawyers on
both sides.
When Saturday Sun visited Christ Embassy headquarters, in
Lagos yesterday, the receptionist refused to grant our correspondent
access into the church office, insisting that they do not have a
department whose job is to attend to the press. In her words: “We do not
have a department that can attend to you. Besides, you are talking
about the owner of the church, no pastor dares to speak about this
matter. If you need response, try and contact Pastor Chris. All I know
is that it (divorce) is all rumour until he says otherwise.”
Meanwhile, members of the church were seen in groups, discussing the
issue which had gone viral on social media. A lady, who was addressed as
Bekky, said: “I guess it’s still a rumour and we have been told to
disregard it. I pray they sort it out and save the church the
embarrassment. Pastor Chris is a holy man and has a peaceful home. It’s
only those who are jealous of his progress that are cooking up the
divorce story.”
Another member, a security man at the church, who had ushered the
correspondent to the reception, said: “I told you that no one will
listen to you. Everybody should mind his business, that he is a pastor
does not mean that there are no challenges. They are the ones suffering
most because the devil is always doing its best to destroy ministries.
Pastor Chris will surely overcome it.”
Yet another member, who later joined Saturday Sun correspondent
out of the church, said: “Even if it is true, he is only human and has
emotional needs. I have been wondering how he copes staying away from
his family, especially his wife. I know that is a good reason for this
to happen at the peak of his career. I know that God will see him
through this trying time”.
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