A pastor, Joshua Ibeneme, yesterday appeared at an Igando Customary Court in Lagos State to seek dissolution of his 21-year-old marriage to his wife, Uzoamaka.
He alleged that she had sex with two of his members.
Ibeneme alleged that his wife was messing around with the men.
“My wife had an affair with two of my members, a deacon and a bishop. Both boasted, telling other members that they slept with my wife because she enticed them.
“God told me to divorce her or else she will destroy my ministry,” he alleged.
The petitioner said his wife denied him sex for five years.
“My wife starved me of sex for over five years. Whenever I wanted to sleep with her, she would give one excuse or the other. In fact, she had moved out of my room to another room. But she gives it to my members freely,” he alleged.
The 53-year-old pastor said Uzomaka always accused him of having an affair with members, who came for counselling.
The respondent denied having sex with members, but accused her husband of infidelity.
“It is women who cause our frequent fighting. They are the problems in our home. My husband’s lust for them is high.
“I never slept with the two men he alleged had sex with me. They just want to tarnish my image. My husband is dating the wife of the deacon,” she alleged.
The mother of three said she starved her husband of sex because she hated sex, adding that she married him because she wanted children.
The 45-year-old teacher begged the court not to dissolve her marriage, saying she still loved him.
The court President, Akin Akinniyi, urged the couple to maintain peace and adjourned the case till May 10 for judgment.
WILD jubilation seized Dapchi on March 21 as Boko Haram insurgents returned 105 of the 110 secondary school girls abducted from the town. The parents of the abducted schoolgirls trooped to the scene in bated anxiety to retrieve their children. Some of them, however, returned home disappointed because their children were not among those returned by the insurgents. Five of them were said to have died in the stampede that attended their abduction, leaving their parents in deep sorrow.
The scene was also an anti-climax for the parents of one of the schoolgirls named Leah Sharibu, who was said to have been held back by the insurgents because she refused to denounce her Christian faith and profess Islam. Like other parents, Leah’s mother had rushed to the scene to welcome her, only to be told by one of the returnees that the hapless girl was still in the custody of the insurgents.
But Leah’s absence is not only felt by her parents. Her pastor says she has been sorely missed in her ECWA Church where she had been a very active member, particularly in the choir. Pastor Daniel Auta, who said that hope of Leah’s release was hinged on prayers by the good people in the town, added that the church, made up of about 65 worshippers, was missing Leah’s commitment to the choir, bible studies and youth programmes.
Auta said: “Leah was an active member of the choir in the church and an active member of all youth programmes in the church. She is very committed to her faith and church activities. She does not joke with her midweek prayers and bible studies.
“She is a great source of encouragement and inspiration to the choir and the youth in the church. Her absence has even weakened the entire choir as well as affected the morale of the church in Dapchi. But we remain strong, praying for her safe return from the hands of the insurgents.
“We have been fasting and praying since the day she was abducted, and we will not stop until she returns. As the scriptures say, He that is in Leah is greater than he that is in the world.”
Auta appealed to the insurgents to embrace the teachings of God and set Leah free, saying that there is no compulsion in religion and no one should be forced to renounce his or her religion in favour of another. “If it is for this reason that the insurgents are holding her, they should release her unconditionally without further delay,” he said.
Leah’s mother
Auta expressed disappointment at the pace government is pursuing Leah’s release, saying: “I am personally not satisfied with the efforts so far put in place for the release of our daughter the same way the other girls were released to their parents.
“They should hasten up. The delay is becoming too long. Something needs to be done fast to secure this girl’s freedom and bring her life back to normal.”
Leah’s mother, Mrs Rabecca Sharibu, who looked visibly distraught, said: “Leah is everything to me. I am so proud the way I raised her. She is committed to whatever she wants to do.
“She told me she wanted to go to school and become a nurse in order to save lives. I am calling on the Federal Government and Boko Haram not to allow the dream of my daughter to be cut short. I appeal to those responsible to work out her freedom and bring her back to me.”
Reliving amid tears how she has been coping with her daughter’s absence since her schoolmates were released, Mrs Sharibu said: “The release of the schoolgirls without my daughter is more painful to me than the first abduction. I thank God for the lives of her friends that have been released. But we cannot stop grieving until our daughter returns, because if we do, we have given up on her.
“I miss Leah so much. Like I told you before, she is everything to me. Whenever this girl is on vacation, I am also on holiday, because she takes over the house and does everything. The only thing I do when Leah is around is to eat and bathe myself. But every other thing, she takes control.”
Mrs. Sharibu also informed that Leah’s only brother has been removed from his boarding school in Nguru for fear of losing another child to Boko Haram. Speaking amid sobs, she said: “Right now, I have decided to withdraw her brother from a boarding school in Nguru to avoid a similar experience, because I no longer have confidence in the security of this country.”
Recalling their last moments together, which coincided with the school’s visiting day the day before Leah was abducted, Mrs Sharibu said: “I took to her some food and chin-chin (snacks). She fetched a little and asked me to keep the rest at home until the next visiting day. That was the last time we met.”
One other moment that has also struck Mrs Sharibu hard was the last rumour that Boko Haram was bringing Leah back to Dapchi. According to her, she hasn’t found sleep since that news turned out to be false.
“They forced people to go into their homes because they were bringing Leah back. We were so happy and very expectant, awaiting the return of Leah. I was prepared to receive her, but it turned out to be lies. I became so unhappy, and since then I cannot sleep,” she lamented.
Father’s Leah, Mr Sharibu Nathaniel, said the good spirit of Leah will prevail, just as he remains optimistic that his daughter will be released.
He said: “I am sure my daughter will overcome her trials. I believe that God is preparing her for some exploit and she will sure manifest. She is a child of God and the God she serves will never let her down the same way Shedrack, Meshach and Abdenego were saved from fire and Daniel from the lion’s den, so will the story of my daughter be.”
He, however, called on the Federal Government to play its part in securing the freedom of his daughter from insurgents.
“Leah is a good child that any parent would be proud of,” he added.
Mr. Sharibu remained grateful to Dapchi community for standing by him and his family at this trying time. “I am grateful to Dapchi people who have continued to stand with me on this.
“They have been treating me like their own. I came to this town single and got married here. I appreciate their effort and ask for more support to ensure that my daughter returns to us safely,” he said.
A pastor, Paul Dawodu, yesterday asked an Ikorodu Customary Court to dissolve his 18-year-old marriage to Adijat for her alleged abusive behaviour.
The petitioner sought the dissolution of the marriage because his wife is quarrelsome and usually curses people.
Dawodu, 48, who lives at Ogalami Street, Ikorodu, said the respondent fought a lot and did not take corrections.
“My wife finds joy in abusing and cursing fellow human beings; she can abuse even a ghost and she fights me regularly.
“I have tried coping with her for years but I can’t anymore.
“She no longer lives with me as she deserted the house 12 months ago. She reported me to the Human Rights Commission and accused me of irresponsibility.
“She still went to abuse the people at the commission’s office recently, where I was ordered to pay the children’s feeding allowance through them,’’ he said.
Dawodu prayed the court to dissolve the marriage and award the custody of the couple’s four children to him.
Denying the claims, Adijat, a trader, said her husband was not telling the truth.
The 38-year-old third wife to the pastor said : “All that my husband said is not true; I only fought them at human rights office when they refused to give me my children’s feeding allowance which my husband drops monthly.
“Help me to beg him; I still want to be his wife,” she prayed the court.
A 46-year-old pastor, Joshua Aranse, on Thursday told an Alagbado Customary Court in Lagos that he impregnated another woman and abandoned his matrimonial home for four years because of sex starvation.
“I am a pastor and I counsel people. It is true that I abandoned her. For over four years, she did not allow me have sexual intercourse with her.
“This is why I went out of my way to impregnate another woman,” he told the court while reacting to a request by his 42-year-old wife, Funmilayo, who is seeking the dissolution of their 16-year-old marriage over alleged adultery.
The trader, who resides at No. 18, Adebayo Oloye St., Baba Ijebu Bus Stop, Meiran, a Lagos suburb, also alleged that her husband abandoned his matrimonial home between 2010 and 2014.
Aranse, however, told the President of the court, Prince A. M. Kosoko, that he abandoned his wife for over four years because his wife denied him sex.
“When I sold the car, I gave her a sum of N40,000 but she used the money to buy second hand shoes to sell.
“I did not commit adultery except the woman I impregnated,” Aranse said, urging the court to dissolve the marriage, adding “I don’t love her anymore.”
Earlier, the wife had told the court that her husband, a pastor, had in 2010, impregnated another woman.
Funmilayo said: “In 2014, he finally abandoned our matrimonial home.”
“My husband has not set his eyes on his three children since June 30, 2014. He refused to pay their school fees. They no longer go to school because I do not have money to send them to school.
“He sold our car and gave the money to the woman he impregnated. He has refused to take care of the children and I.
“Please separate us because I no longer love him.”
In his ruling, the court’s president ordered the respondent to pay N15,000 for the upkeep of the three children until the case was disposed of.
He directed the man to bring the feeding allowance to the court and adjourned the continuation of trial until March 13.
A Chief Magistrates’ Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, yesterday remanded Pastor Chidiebere Okoroafor in prison custody for the alleged murder of three members of his church.
Okoroafor, who was paraded by the police command last Friday, was alleged to have killed three members.
A drama occurred at the courtroom when he was arraigned. He knelt down and said: “Yes My Lord, I killed Ada. I also pushed Uluoma, she fell down and hit her head on the floor, but I didn’t kill the baby. I just left her there.
“Please forgive me My Lord, I did not do it intentionally. I won’t do it again.”
The defendant was not represented by a counsel.
After the drama, the Magistrate, K.A. Braide, said he lacked jurisdiction to hear the case and urged the prosecutor, G.A. Amadi, “to facilitate his transfer to the High Court where he will be arraigned and properly dealt with.”
She adjourned the matter till March 27 for mention.
The charge reads: “That you Pastor Chidebere Okoroafor on the 11th day of December, 2017 at Izuoma community Oyigbo within the Port Harcourt Magisterial District did murder Ada Concila Ezenwa by strangling her till she died and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 319(1) of the Criminal Code Cap 37 Vol. 2 Laws of Rivers State Nigeria 1999.
“That you Pastor Chidebere Okoroafor on the 11th day of December, 2017 at Egberu village, Afam within the Port Harcourt Magisterial District did murder Uluoma Onweagba by strangling her till she died and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 319(1) of the Criminal Code Cap 37 Vol. 2 Laws of Rivers State Nigeria 1999.
“That you Pastor Chidebere Okoroafor on the same date and place in the aforesaid magisterial district did murder Christable Joseph Ezenwa, an 11-month-old baby, by pushing her off from the back of Uluoma Onweagba to the ground where she broke her skull, which caused her death and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 319(1) of the Criminal Code Cap 37 Vol. 2 Laws of Rivers State Nigeria 1999.”
It was a miracle of sort that Anthony Olawale, a Pastor with the Mountain of Fire and Miracles (MFM) in Ikorodu, Lagos State, survived an attack on him and his family by Badoo cultists on their residence in July last year.
Eight months after, a fresh tragedy struck: Olawale, slumped and died while running a ‘simple’ errand for his church.
His friend, Moshood Isamotu, writing on his Facebook wall narrated how the end came for Anthony on Sunday, February 18.
His words: “The grieving Orija Community had cause to gather at the residence of the late Pastor Anthony twice in the last one year. In June 2017 the family was in the news. On June 2, 2017 the dreaded Badoo cult had singled out his family for attack at their uncompleted bungalow located at Alhaji Obayemi Street, Lasunwom Estate, opposite Lagos State Poly, Ikorodu probably because of the vulnerability of their abode.
“By the time the killer cultists were done with his five-member family, he was left with a bruised, battered head and an unsettled mind. Though the Pastor was badly hit, the family was however lucky as no life was lost unlike in any other Badoo attack. His family’s escape was strange really as the cultists are known to be merciless and sharp killers; they hardly miss their targets. No victim ever lived to narrate Badoo experience except Pastor Anthony. He received treatment for so long at the Lagos Island Hospital and I believed he was still receiving treatment before his final eclipse.
“But when the community gathered again at their residence last Sunday it was for a condolence. Pastor Anthony had answered to an invitation no mortal has control over when the time is up. Death! Death!”
Recounting the circumstances surrounding Pastor Olawale’s death, Isamotu wrote: “His sunset gave no obvious inkling to the people around him and even to his family. A day before his sudden demise, he attended his Orija Community Development Association Landlords’ Meeting. He was the most visible, hyper-active and took up several duties. He played the role of the chief usher, welcomed people with his trade mark smiles, arranged seats, served refreshments and was later appointed to say the closing and his ‘last prayers’ for the group; oblivious to himself and members that he was signing off and departing from them to eternity, leaving a parting memory.
“According to the wife, late Pastor Anthony woke up early as usual on his last day on earth, very excited and active. No sign that their beloved was on the very final stage of his life. As usual, he went straight to the Church, attached to his own house which he offered the MFM for the work of the Ministry. He said prayers, spoke in tongue and prepared the Church ready before other members arrived for what eventually turned to be his last service on earth. He bounded the devil and all forces of darkness that might want to disrupt the Service but like all mortals, he was limited in knowledge. He could not see and bound death that was to take him away in few hours. Along with other members he said the Service opening prayers as well but ironically never lived to share ‘the grace in fellowship’.
He wrote in detail how he died saying, “that morning, he was everywhere, vivacious, ensuring that all was well. He was said to be so dutiful as if he knew he would never have another opportunity and wanted to be caught in active service doing the ‘Master’s work’. Members equally noticed the high spirit he exuded but none could decipher or smell death that was closing on their host brethren.”
The news of Olawale’s sudden death expectedly disrupted the church service. He was buried on Tuesday, February 20, at his residence.
The police have arrested the General Overseer of God’s Favour Ministry, Iba, Lagos, Pastor Daniel Onwugbufor, for robbery.
Pastor Onwugbufor was arrested alongside Israel Animashaun on February 1 following an intelligence obtained by the Operatives of the Federal Special Anti – Robbery Squad (FSARS) led by Uba Adams.
The suspects were accused of snatching cars, including a Lexus RX 330 Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV), which was traced to Onwugbufor’s Lagos Iba residence.
Ogun State Police Command Spokesperson Abimbola Oyeyemi, in a statement yesterday, said Animashaun is a member of a three-man robbery syndicate that specialised in snatching exotic cars.
Animasaun, she said, had since confessed to snatching the SUV in Ajah, Lagos with two others at large, and took it to the Pastor.
Oyeyemi said: “The Pastor was in the habit of assisting Animasaun and his syndicate to sell such robbed items. Animasaun confessed that the Pastor only paid him N350,000 for the car after using it for two weeks before he sent it to his other accomplice in Onitsha who is still at large. He also informed the police that he once robbed somebody of a galaxy Samsung handset which the Pastor bought for N35,000 from him.
“The pastor, who first denied knowing Animasaun to be a robber later confessed when confronted by Animasaun, blaming his action on the devil. He informed the police that the SUV has been sent to his accomplice in Onitsha but promised to work with the police to get the person arrested.”
Six men, including an herbalist, who were alleged to be cult members, were yesterday charged with smashing the heads of a pastor and other family members with a grinding stone at an Ebute Meta Magistrates’ Court.
Chibuzor Igwe, 19, Omotayo Onamoyegun, 25, Samuel Ameze, 38, Gift Ameze, 35, Uche Igwe, 23, and the herbalist, Fatai Adebayo a.k.a Aleshe, 34 are facing a seven-count charge of conspiracy, murder and stealing.
Chibuzo and his brother, Igwe, however, pleaded guilty to the charge of murder brought against them, while other accused entered a ‘not guilty’ plea.
Magistrate Bola Folarin-Williams remanded them at Ikoyi Prisons pending legal advice from the State Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
She adjourned the case till March 8.
Mr Emmanuel Eze, a lawyer from the State Criminal and Investigative Intelligence Department, Panti, had asked the court to remand all the accused in prison and asked that the case file be duplicated and sent to the DPP.
He said the accused committed the offences last November 26 at Ofin area and also at 12, Alajo Close, Abule Oshorun, Ibeshe in Ikorodu.
He alleged the accused had broken into the apartment of the deceased, Pastor Victor and used a stone to smash his head while he was asleep.
He told the court that the accused gained entry through the window and made away with his phone valued at N13,000.
The accused also entered the premises of the Yekinis and used a grinding stone to smash the heads of Sakiru, Kehinde and Salad Yekini causing them grievous harm.
Eze said the accused also went away with a DVD player and a T-shirt, all valued at N8, 000 belonging to the family members.
A pastor was killed yesterday morning by persons suspected to be Badoo members.
The incident occurred at Lajo Road, near transformer in Igbogbo-Bayeku.
The pastor’s widow, Gloria and 10-month-old baby, Goodness, were said to have been found unconscious. They were rushed to Ikorodu General Hospital by policemen from Igbogbo Division.
The attack occurred few hours after acting Police Commissioner Imohimi Edgal met with all stakeholders at the palace of the Ikorodu monarch, Oba Abdulrasheed Shotobi on the menace of ritual killings.
It was gathered that the assailants smashed the head of the pastor identified as Victor Kanayo with two big stones, which were said to have been found beside him.
The Nation gathered that the murderers cut the iron bars on the window of the bungalow the family lived in before entering the house.
This is coming on the heels of several efforts by the police to contain the resurgence of the Badoo killings which died down after massive raids of several shrines in Agbowa and Imota axis suspected to be the base of the cultists.
According to sources, the pastor and his family were the only ones living in the building because the landlord moved out some months ago as a result of increased insecurity.
The source said: “The pastor was an easy going person. His wife and child are unconscious as I speak to you. They were rushed the general hospital. The police took them there.”
Police spokesman Chike Oti, a Superintendent (SP) said some persons have been arrested in connection with the murder.
He said the police had commenced investigation into the case, adding that the command was digging into the pastor’s past to be sure there was no connection between his past and murder.
Oti stated that the look into his past was sequel to a human skull tattooed on the deceased’s shoulder, which detectives believe had cultism connotations.
He said: “Around 7am, at Offin, Igbogbo, Lagos, a suburb of Ikorodu town, one Victor Kanayo, a male person and a pastor was murdered.
“The command has made a couple of arrests and suspects are being questioned with a view to discover the author of the heinous crime. The Commissioner of Police has also dispatched a team of crack detectives to unravel those behind the murder, dig into the past of the victim and see if there is a correlation between his past and his fate.
“The issue of his past before he became a born again Christian is of interest to the police because of a human skull tattoo drawn on his left arm which gives the victim away as one who may have belonged to any of the dreaded cult groups. Investigation into case is ongoing. Findings will be made public as usual by the CP.”
A 30-year-old pastor of a Pentecostal church in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, M.I. Akpan, was yesterday arraigned before Chief Magistrate Isokari Andrew-Jaja of a magistrates’ court in Port Harcourt for allegedly defrauding his victim, Mrs. Oluchi David, of N1.5 million.
The incident reportedly occurred on December 8, 2016 at Area Command, Port Harcourt.
He allegedly gave false information to a police inspector on October 6, 2017 that Mrs. David had summoned him before a shrine over undisclosed reason.
The cleric pleaded not guilty to the charge and was admitted to bail at N200,000. He was asked to produce one surety who must be a manager with a reputable company and resident in Port Harcourt.
Police prosecutor Wilson Isaiah told the court that the suspect committed the offences between December 2016 and October 2017 and that they contravened Section 125(A) (1) (a) and Section 419 of the Criminal Code Cap 37 Volume II Laws of Rivers State Nigeria 1999.
Andrew-Jaja adjourned the case till October 31 for hearing.
