by Kolapo Olapoju

Following the divorce suit instituted against him by his wife, Anita Oyakhilome, founder of Christ Embassy church, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome has blasted media houses, claiming their reports of the divorce proceedings are ‘false and fabricated’.

Speaking through his lawyer, Mr. Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), he said the adultery allegations are being orchestrated to damage his reputation and that of his church.

The statement said, “The attention of our client, Rev. Chris Oyakhilome, and the church has been drawn to the wave of false, malicious and fabricated stories being published in the print and electronic media about his person, the church and a matrimonial cause between him and his wife.”

The embattled pastor criticized the media’s coverage of the story, calling it a complete distortion of the facts, while also saying that the reports are selfishly motivated for political and financial advantage.

In the statement however, Oyakhilome did not explicitly deny the allegations. Rather, he sought to attack media houses, and also threatened to take legal action against platforms who publish the story.

“Be warned therefore that unless the concerned media houses desist from further publishing words and stories which are false and damaging of our client’s reputation and the church, we shall, without further recourse to the concerned publishers, promptly embark on appropriate legal machinery with a view to protecting our client’s reputation and that of the church,” his attorney wrote.

Meanwhile on her own part, his estranged wife, Anita, released a statement yesterday through her lawyers, stating that the marriage was over for good.

Speaking through Stephen Goddard, Business Development Manager of Attwaters Jameson Hill Solicitors, she said, “It is with great sadness that our client, Pastor Anita Oyakhilome, has come to the conclusion that her marriage to Pastor Christian Oyakhilome has irretrievably broken down and regrettably there is no hope of any reconciliation.”