After months of speculation over the marriage crisis between
Christ Embassy’s Pastor, Chris Oyakhilome and wife, a new report claims the
wife has now filed for a divorce in a London court.
In a report published by Gistmania, 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 report, 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.
No comments:
Post a Comment