Anita Odegwa Oyakhilome and Chris Oyakhilome, flamboyant pastor and founder of Christ Embassy Church have now finally gone their separate ways, with a seal of a Family court in the United Kingdom.
The court in High Holborn, London, granted Anita’s divorce wishes based on the unreasonable behaviour and marital infidelity of her former husband, Chris. The divorce was granted 8 February.
Anita’s lawyers, Attwaters Jameson Hill Solicitors, announced the break up on their website thus:
“We have been requested by Anita Oyakhilome to confirm that on the 8th February 2016 a decree absolute was pronounced in the High Court of Justice Principal Registry of the Family Division dissolving her marriage to Christian Onehirokpeana Oyakhilome.
“Anita Oyakhilome would like to confirm that she is no longer involved in or part of Christ Embassy AKA Believers Loveworld inc.”Anita’s divorce statement.The divorce was filed by Anita on 9 April 2014 on the grounds of “adultery” and “unreasonable behaviours”. The case was marked No FD14D01650.After months of keeping the matter out of public domain, a Nigerian online medium, The Cable, brought it back to public consciousness on 29 August. The medium said, apart from “adultery” and “unreasonable behaviours,” Anita cited as grounds for seeking to end her marriage to Oyakhilome, other allegations in the divorce suit are too damning to be reported without inviting the services of lawyers.The embarrassed church reacted two days after by deleting Anita’s pictures and personal information from its official website,www.christembassy.org. Anita was supposed to be the Vice-president of the church.Signs that all was not well between Chris and Anita emerged in May 2014. In a post on a Facebook account opened by Anita’s supporters with title, ‘Where is Rev. Anita Oyakhilome?’, Oyakhilome was quoted as saying that his marriage was hitting the rocks and the end was imminent. The post purported to be the summary of Pastor Chris’ speech with United Kingdom-based pastors and deacons of Christ Embassy at the Bermondsey branch of the church on 16 May stated that, “I am here for your concerns about the ongoing domestic issue with my wife and I know it affects you directly, being the ones under her leadership.”He allegedly asked the pastors not disposed to the developments in the church to quit.
He was quoted as saying, “You don’t join a woman to fight her husband. Bitterness is prolonged and accumulated anger. My wife is always angry and bitter. Some pastors’ wives think when they marry a pastor, they are equal to the pastor. My wife thinks so. As a matter of fact, Rev. Tom was her pastor before I married her and Rev. Ray and Evang. Owase were her leaders long before I married her. How come she thinks she’s senior to them now? I already started Christ Embassy before I married her. I didn’t marry her and said we should start Christ Embassy. I was already ‘pastoring.’ I already set my sail and knew my direction before I married her. I only said ‘come and help me. Be careful of the friends you keep. My wife keeps friends who bring out the worst in her and help her see the worst in people, instead of keeping friends that will help her vision, especially as the wife of a global pastor like me.”
The couple’s marriage, two decades ago, produced two teenage daughters, Sharon and Charlyn.
A 42-year-old housewife, Mrs Doris Oseni, has told a Customary Court in Ondo town that she caught her husband of 12 years, Prophet Femi Oseni, on the floor of the church office, having sex with another woman.
The woman, who is also an Evangelist, therefore asked the court to dissolve her marriage on the ground of adultery, desertion and lack of love on the part of the husband .
The petitioner said her husband’s behaviour towards her changed after seven years of their marriage with no child, adding that since then, the defendant had been sleeping around with different women, most of whom were members of his congregation.
She added that after several days of abandoning her, she traced her husband to his church in a village not far from Ondo town.
She claimed that on getting there, she met her husband on the floor of the church office with one of the women in the church having sex.
She added that she reported her husband’s strange behaviour to his mother but that did not stop him from the alleged adulterous acts.
As a result of this she said she was fed up of the relationship, praying the court to separate them.
Doris also accused the husband of having a child out of wedlock, who she said was a product of his extra-marital affairs.
The 45-year-old Oseni pleaded with the court not to dissolve the marriage, saying he still loved the woman, whom he described as a virtuous woman that had been taking care of him since he married her.
In his ruling the President of the Court, Joshua Adunbi, said the words and body language of the wife had shown that she was tired of the union, therefore ordered for the dissolution of the marriage.
Adunbi added that both parties were free to re-marry any person of their choice and ordered the petitioner to pay the sum of N2,500 to the respondent as a refund of dowry.
He however noted that anyone of the parties that was not satisfied with the decision of the court could appeal the ruling within 30 days.
Ikorodu (Lagos) – A 39-year-old fashion designer, Mrs Farotimi Titilayo, has pleaded with an Ikorodu Customary Court in Lagos to dissolve her eight-year-old marriage on grounds of sexual denial and neglect.
Titilayo, who resides at Nosiru St., Eyita, Ikorodu, told the court that her husband, Amos, grossly denied her sex before they deserted each other.
“My husband was sexually imbalance before I left him in 2011; I reported him to his family but they pleaded on his behalf.
“I bought him drugs to correct his sexual weakness but he refused to take them.
“We have been living separately for over four years now because he refused to find solution to his problems.
“I want this court to officially divorce this marriage because I want to move on with my life; I don’t want to bear his name anymore,’’ she said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the respondent was not in court even after having been said to have been served the court’s notices three times.
The Court President, Mr Olu Adebiyi, said that the court could not continue to delay hearing of the case as the respondent had been absent at proceedings several times.
He, however, said “we will still serve the husband one more time to see if he will attend the next court date.’’
Lagos – A middle-aged-man, Collins Nduka, on Thursday pleaded with an Ojo Customary Court in Lagos State to order his wife, Sefinat Nduka, to refund N1.4 million he spent in marrying her.
Collins told the court that his wife, whom he married three years ago, had decided to abandon her matrimonial home for more than a year.
“I would want a refund of the amount that I spent as marriage and dowry expenses because she has become unfaithful.
“My wife is not faithful to the marriage because she has other relationships apart from me and I no more love her. After all, she has not given birth to any child for me.
“The most painful thing is that she has parked all my belongings in my house to an unknown place in addition to her emptying my shop which I stocked with over N750,000,” he said.
According to him, the three-year-old marriage is being threatened and every bit of her action portrays her as someone no longer interested in the union.
“I invited my friends from outside the country to make the marriage an expensive one and after it, she wants to leave me for another man, I need my dowry so she can be free,” Nduka said.
He pleaded with the court to dissolve the marriage and order Sefinat to return his belongings which she allegedly parked away and money to him so that he could continue with his life.
Sefinat, who was absent in court, had earlier told the court that she did not cart away her husband’s property as he had alleged.
She, however, said that she was ready for the divorce.
The President, Chief Joseph Ogunmola, while advising the husband on the dangers of divorce, instructed that the respondent be invited to the court.
“The court does not dissolve any marriage except in extreme cases, we need the consent of both parties before judgment so she must be invited, “he said.
Ogunmola, therefore, adjourned the case to May19 for further hearing. (NAN)
Christ Embassy founder, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, is finally assembling a team of lawyers for the divorce case instituted by his wife.
Pastor Oyakhilome and Anita, Pastor of Christ Embassy
In April, his wife, Anita, had filed for divorce at Central Family Court, High Holborn, London, UK, on the grounds of “unreasonable behaviour” and “adultery”.
The charismatic pastor strongly denies charges of adultery and has now resolved to engage the services of reputable family lawyers to launch his defence.
TheCable was unable to ascertain the names of his would-be legal representatives, although they are expected to come from the UK since the wife also engaged the services of a British law firm, Attwaters Jameson Hill Solicitors.
It is yet unclear the position to be taken by Oyakhilome on the case ─ either to stall the divorce or to stop the wife from getting hefty alimony.
“The pastor is sending mixed messages all the time. We honestly don’t know his mind yet,” a pastor with the church told TheCable in Lagos, citing instances of Oyakhilome getting angry over his wife’s action and other instances when he appeared conciliatory, seeking that she should retrace her steps and return to her matrimonial home.
Oyakhilome had got wind of his wife’s divorce moves as far back as February this year and tried to stall, but she still went ahead to file the case in April.
For two months, he avoided being served the court papers but was eventually tricked into accepting service by the wife’s lawyers who went to visit him at his London hotel incognito.
Although the marriage was contracted in Nigeria, Anita might have chosen the UK for the divorce because that is where she resides and Western courts are known for their strong stand on family issues.
If the case ends in her favour, she could get alimony of up to 50% of Oyakhilome’s assets, which include hotels and real estate in many countries.
Under the divorce process, he is expected to file his response to the wife’s allegations and state grounds under which he thinks the marriage should not be dissolved.
He could also try to prove to the court that the wife does not deserve significant alimony because of the circumstances of the case.
At the time of writing, he was yet to file his defence, according to sources in the know.
Anita’s lawyers may now be forced to ask for the next step ─ which is the actual dissolution of the union ─ if Oyakhilome’s lawyers keep them waiting.
After reports of the divorce suit were published, an angry Oyakhilome reportedly spoke with members at the London headquarters via a conference call asking those who wanted to leave the church to feel free to do so.
The troubled marriage appeared to have finally broken down last year when Anita stopped ministering at the London headquarters, which she presides over along with other churches in Europe.
She also stopped contributing to Rhapsody of Realities, the highly successful Christian daily devotional which is sold around the world and is a major source of income for the couple.
The devotional, which is written in 550 languages and is currently distributed in 242 countries, is on course to reaching 300,000 cities across the world with 100million in 2014, according to the official website.
Much has been read into the removal of Anita’s name from the devotional after the news of the divorce proceedings went public.
A member of the church in the UK told TheCable that Anita was complaining that retaining her picture and profile in the booklet was creating the wrong impression that she was still contributing to it.
Unconfirmed reports said she ordered the latest edition to be confiscated in London because it was still bearing her image and she had not been paid any royalties since last year.
Christ Embassy is one of the biggest denominations in Nigeria, with branches all over the world. The marriage is blessed with two teenage daughters.
Members of the Christ Embassy are divided over a divorce suit filed against the Senior Pastor of the church, Chris Oyakhilome, by wife, Anita, in a London court.
Pastor Oyakhilome and Anita, Pastor of Christ Embassy
Oyakhilome is the President of the Believers’ Love World Incorporated, the registered name of the Christian ministry, while his wife is the Vice President.
Some members of the church on a Facebook page, ‘Where is Rev. Anita Oyakhilome,’ which is believed to have been opened by Anita’s fans, expressed differing opinions on the matter.
On Saturday, one of the church members, Ijeoma Olive Ehirim said, “I am a Christ Embassy member. I hate one thing there: How can a pastor be working together with a lady hand in hand, attending meetings and lodging in a hotel for days. My girlfriend travels with our branch pastor annually for PPCF which holds in Lagos. Only God knows.”
Sharing a similar view, Samantha Iwowo, described adultery as one of the grounds for divorce.
Iwowo said, “Pastor Chris Oyakhilome must have been discovered compromising his marital bed business. It is what it is. God says judgement will start from His house. ‘Touch not my anointed’ is God’s instruction regarding all His children, not an individual nicking, scheming, threatening monies off people’s purses and telling them that salvation is tied to tithes and that seed sowing is only money donation to the church/pastor’s coffers. One down, more to roll. Christ be praised.”
In her post, Chinyere Okechukwu-George, claimed to have left the church when she observed some irregularities.
“I and my family left Christ Embassy for our own good after worshiping there for three years plus and seeing all the things going on under the disguise of church. And I can comfortably say that for over a year now, we have had so much peace in our Christian lives. I don’t care how you view my comment but truth must be told.”
Joseph Osagiede, however, responded saying the Oyakhilomes were still together.
He said, “I have been in Christ Embassy for 12 years. All is totally well with thier marriage. All those wishing them to split and also those going about saying nasty things about the church, be careful.”
Faith Ebunoluwa Adetayo also said, “I have been in Christ Embassy since 1990s and I can authoritatively say some things: I have seen the power of God work, demonstrated in healings and many other things. I have seen how that Pastor Chris is less concerned about mistakes we make.
“He believes that these sins of the flesh will disappear, only if we listen to the word of God. Rather than condemning us, he speaks words of encouragement. And for your information, Pastor Anita is still very much in the ministry and she’s with her darling husband.”
Meanwhile, the Christ Embassy has kept mum on the divorce case.
A woman, who picked SUNDAY PUNCH’s call to the Nigerian office of the church on Saturday, said she had no information to give on the matter.
When asked to confirm if the divorce suit was true or not, she simply said, “I have no information to give on the matter.”
When another call was made to the church thorough another number, the respondent, who identified herself as Pastor Christabel, said the church had no information about the case.
“No, we have no information on the matter,” she said.
An online newspaper, The Cable, had reported on Friday that the divorce case, with Suit No FD14D01650, was filed on April 9, 2014 at the Divorce Section A, Central Family Court, First Avenue House, High Holborn, London, the United Kingdom, on Anita’s behalf by Attwaters Jameson Hill Solicitors.
Anita reportedly filed for dissolution of the marriage between her and her pastor husband, which produced two teenage daughters – Sharon and Charlyn – on the grounds of “unreasonable behaviour” and “adultery.
A woman, Tawakalitu Mohammed has appealed to the Mapo Grade ‘C’ Customary Court, in Ibadan South-East Local Government Area of Oyo State, to dissolve the three-year-old marriage between her and her husband, Sulaiman Mohammed on allegation that Sulaiman took their eight-month-old baby away from her.
Tawakalitu, who lives at Monatan, Ibadan, Oyo State capital, told the court that Sulaiman married her three years ago as a virgin, adding that their marriage was blessed with a child.
She added that when she got married to Sulaiman, she was hale and hearty, but later discovered that her behaviour was no longer normal.
“My husband is a traditionalist; He took my eight-month-old baby to an unknown place and I have been mentally disturbed since then.
“He must have done something to me through diabolic means. I was not sick when I married him, but now I’m not well.
“After Sulaiman took our baby away, he chained me down. I don’t know why he treats me this way,” Tawakalitu said.
She, therefore, pleaded with the court to rule that Sulaiman return their baby to her.
Reacting to Tawakalitu allegations, Sulaiman told the court that he is a traditionalist, adding that Tawakalitu was mentally unbalanced and was brought to him for treatment.
Sulaiman, who resides at Olodo area of Ibadan, added that due to Tawakalitu’s condition, she was chained down to allow for proper treatment.
He added that after he had cured Tawakalitu of her ailment, he impregnated her, claiming that he had earlier told her family members that he would like to marry her after she was well.
“Tawakalitu was mentally ill and needed to be chained down for proper treatment.
“I’m a native doctor and she was brought to me as a patient. I told her people that I would marry her if I could cure her and they agreed.
“Unfortunately, occasionally, she still displays this sickness and that’s why I took the baby from her so as to prevent him (baby) from being hurt.
“I gave the child to my mother who is now taking care of him,’’ Sulaiman told the court.
Sulaiman further told the court that Tawakalitu had earlier taken him to a Sharia Court where she declared that she was no longer interested in their marriage.
“I made this known to her family. I don’t know where she lives after she packed out of my house.”
Speaking on the matter, a member of the court jury, Mr Ademola Odunade, stated that taking an eight-month-old baby away from the mother was a crime against God and humanity.
He added that it was child abuse for Sulaiman to have denied the baby access to his mother under any disguise.
“You are lucky that other parties concerned in the matter have prayed the court to temper justice with mercy.
“The case has already gone beyond marriage dissolution and has now attained a criminal nature,” Okunade said.
The court president, Elder Ezekiel Ogundipe dissolved the three-year-old marriage and ordered that Sulaiman should pay a monthly feeding allowance of N5,000 for the upkeep of the child.
A pastor, Matthew Olumide, has prayed a Mapo Customary Court in Ibadan, Oyo State capital, to dissolve his marriage with his wife, Oluyemisi, over her alleged attempt to destroy his manhood.
Matthew told the court that his wife had overwhelmed his life with miseries.
“Oluyemisi exposed me to public ridicule when she tore my clothes, including my underwear and compressed my testicles.
“I spent several weeks in the hospital and when I returned, she warned me not to receive visitors if I cherished my life.
“She falsely accused me of having extra-marital affair with my church secretary,’’ he said.
Olumide further told the court that his wife had destroyed his ministry following her domineering attitude. He stated that from more than 50 members, his congregation had dwindled to just a few.
“She doesn’t prepare food for me and the children anymore.
“Rather than rest after evangelising, I now take up the responsibility of cooking and looking after the welfare of the children,” he added.
In her defence, Oluyemisi told the court her husband and his people were always beating her.
“He had married someone before me, and they are still seeing each other.
“He even invites her to our vigils. He asked me not to work and yet, he doesn’t take care of me,’’ she said.
The court president, Mr Ezekiel Ogundipe, adjourned the case till June 9 and ordered that the couple bring along their relatives.
Matthew told the court that his wife had overwhelmed his life with miseries.