Televangelist and founder of the Mountain of Liberation and Miracle Ministry, Chris Okafor, has challenged allegations made against him by actress Doris Ogala, questioning the logic of her claims.
Mr Okafor raised the question on Thursday while addressing journalists in Lagos, amid renewed controversy over allegations levelled against him by the actress, including claims of a long-term affair, a broken promise of marriage, and involvement in the death of her brother.
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He said: “The same person who accused me of murder is the same person crying that I want to abandon her and marry someone else. How could she want to marry someone who allegedly killed her brother?. “There is so much about the matter than meets the ordinary eye, and so many unanswered questions and glaring lies”.
Mr Okafor also dismissed the allegations as false and malicious, describing the sustained online attacks against him as cyberbullying driven by bloggers and influencers seeking traffic.
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“The allegations were coming from a woman I had never met. Then my ex-wife joined and came up with the assertion that I was trying to defile one of our daughters.
“The same ex-wife and daughter have gone to a popular blogger to ask that I pay for their school fees and upkeep abroad of about N80 million. The same father trying to defile them? Which woman will do that?, ”he added.
Origin of woes
He said many Nigerians had suffered reputational damage due to unverified claims circulated online without consequences.
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Mr Okafor further alleged that the controversy intensified after his wedding planner leaked details of his plans to remarry, a development he said triggered widespread speculation and what he described as coordinated attempts to “cash in” on his personal life.
He said, “All these began after my plans to remarry were leaked by our wedding planner. All hell broke loose, and everyone tried to cash in on it. In our divorce proceedings in 2014, which I instituted at an Ikeja court, the reasons on the document were infidelity, violence, lack of love and the marriage was dissolved for irreconcilable differences.
“At no point during the proceedings did my ex-wife mention I was trying to defile our daughter. The court awarded me custody of our children, and no one queried those allegations!. If, as a pastor, I can survive these lies, what happens to an average Nigerian?”
Pains
The pastor said that while his media trial was going on, what remained most painful was the fact that the bloggers and influencers were all bullying him on an allegation without evidence or hearing from him.
He said: “It is so sad that most of the so-called influencers we have often connived with come up with fabulous lies to attract traffic to their blogs. Many Nigerians have suffered and are still suffering from the lies of bloggers, and most often, they get away with it after destroying the image of their targets.
“Very few times, some of the influencers were arrested and dragged to court, but 90 per cent of them often go free for far-fetched lies against people. Nigeria must find a way to safeguard its internet space, especially to ensure that innocent citizens do not get shattered over lies, demeaning their image.”
Social media regulation
The pastor said there is a need for the national assembly to enact legislation that would not only regulate the nation’s internet but also ensure that offenders are punished as a deterrent to others.
He urged the cyber police to do more to trace internet offences and apprehend offenders.
Recalling his ordeal, Okafor lamented that the majority of bloggers and some Nigerians failed to ask the necessary questions on the allegation.
Mr Okafor reassured his members and Nigerians that the truth would eventually unfold, assuring that truth must prevail and offenders would not go unpunished.
“In the 55 years of my existence on earth, I have never been arrested for any crime or offence. It is so sad how far people can go to destroy,” he added.
(NAN)
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