According to reports from thecable.ng, Pastor
Anita has finally filed for divorce from her
husband, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome
Read reports below:
The dissolution of the marriage
between Christ Embassy Church founder,
Pastor Christian Oyakhilome, and his wife,
Rev. Anita Odegwa Oyakhilome, has entered
the final phase, TheCable can report. The
wife is seeking divorce on the grounds of
“unreasonable behaviour” and “adultery”. She
outlined several allegations against the
pastor which TheCable cannot publish for
legal reasons.
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, personal injury law and
medical negligence. Efforts to reconcile the
popular couple, whose church is one of the
biggest denominations in Nigeria and has
branches all over world, have failed.
They have two teenage daughters, Sharon
and Charlyn. Oyakhilome is the president of
Believers’ Love World Inc, the registered
name of the Christian ministry, while his wife
is the vice-president. The pastor, according
to an elder of the church, has denied
allegations of adultery and believes his wife
is being influenced by “bad friends” who are
intent on destroying their home. While Anita
believes she has been relegated 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.
Sources told TheCable that the pastor had
been making efforts to avoid divorce in the
hope that the wife would eventually have a
change of mind. However, TheCable can also
report that the decree nissi was served on
the charismatic pastor 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. Church
insiders said Oyakhilome had been hoping for
rapprochement, but he was left with no
option than to receive the papers when the
lawyers cornered him at his hotel in London.
The decree absolute, which will effectively
end the marriage, is expected to be issued
soon while terms of the divorce will be
worked out by the lawyers on both sides.
TheCable learnt Anita recently wanted to go
public with the details of her allegations
against the husband but reached an informal
agreement to sheathe her sword in the
interest of the church. Oyakhilome is
regarded as one of the richest and most
influential pastors in Nigeria, and co-authors
the fast-selling Christian daily devotional,
Rhapsody of Realities, with the wife.
However, following the strain in the marriage,
the wife had been complaining to friends that
her husband had stopped the payment of
royalties due her from the devotional. “She
complained of being deliberately starved of
funds, perhaps to bring her to her knees in
the belief that she would eventually return to
her matrimonial home and mend things,” a
church member told TheCable in the UK.A
wealthy Zimbabwean businessman, who is
into telecoms, is one of the biggest financiers
of the London branch of the church which
Anita pastors along with other branches in
Europe. When the crisis got to a head, the
Zimbabwean stopped funding the church ─
some said in solidarity with Oyakhilome, his
close friend and neighbour in Johannesburg,
South Africa.
However, Oyakhilome was said to have been
shocked when the wife announced at a
fundraiser that she was sowing a
“seed” (donation) of $1 million ─ despite her
assumed lack of access to funds.
Matters got to a head on Sunday, July 13,
2014, when some relatives of Anita locked up
the London branch of the church to protest
against the “humiliation” being meted out to
their sister ─ who had not overseen services
at the branch since November 2013.
Some church members had sometime in May
10, 2014 launched facebook campaign,
asking: “Where is Rev. Anita Oyakhilome?”
They said Pastor Chris and Rev. Anita must
unite “for the sake of the gospel, the church
and their two beautiful daughters”. They
quoted Malachi 2:16 in the Message Bible: “I
hate divorce, says the God of Israel.” The
facebook page, which has over 3,300 “likes”,
was opened with a stated mission: “This is a
Call to Prayer for all believers who
understand God’s heart concerning marriage
and a Call to Action by Pst. Chris.
#DoWhatYouPreach”. Officials of the church
quickly moved to deny any rift between the
pastor couple. One official, Kenneth
Achumasara, told the media last June: “I can
tell you authoritatively that there is no issue
between Pastor Chris and his wife, Anita… If
you go to the UK now you will see her along
with the kids. She is still with him and there
is no issue between them. I have been with
him for 22 years and the Pastor Chris I know
cannot even utter such words as reported.
He will never address such a gathering. She
will soon be in Nigeria for a programme and I
will definitely invite you to have access to
her.
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