Chris Oyakhilome’s marriage crashes-No be me talk am o!

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”.