After months of speculation over the marriage crisis between Christ
Embassy’s Pastor, Chris Oyakhilome and wife, a new report claims the
latter has now filed for a divorce in a London court.
In an exclusive report published by Cable News, the wife is seeking a
divorce on the grounds of “unreasonable behaviour” and “adultery”.
She allegedly outlined several allegations against the Pastor which cannot be published 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.
According
to the online portal, Pastor Chris had been making efforts to avoid
divorce in the hope that the wife would eventually have a change of
mind, however, 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.
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.
Recall that some church members had sometime in May 10, 2014 launched a
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 thus: “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.”
Oyakhilome is the
President of Believers’ Love World Inc, the registered name of the
Christian ministry, while his wife is the Vice President.
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