Pastor Chris Okafor, who leads the Mountain of Liberty and Miracle Ministry, has taken back his earlier public apology to Nollywood actress Doris Ogala after claims of a seven-year secret relationship.
During a recent church service, Okafor said he made his first apology because he felt pressured by people he called friends. He also shared that he was hesitant to apologise, since he thought people would see it as admitting guilt.
He later said his actions were misunderstood and made it clear that his public apology was not meant for Ogala.
“You lose a fight to win a war. I was under immense pressure from certain people around me saying I should do different things. I said that what I am being asked to do is like accepting what I did not do. I realised I was greatly misunderstood,” he said.
“Firstly, the reason why I apologised was that the fathers of faith were being dragged. And I did not want them to be dragged. Pastor Matthew and Bishop Abioye.
“There is no single apology to that person. There is no apology for what I did not do or for someone I have not met face to face. I was pressured by people I called friends, but who are not.
“I knelt because of those fathers. Not because of any Jezebel anywhere.”
Okafor stated that he has now chosen to allow the legal process to resolve the dispute.
“We have chosen the right cause. And the right course will prevail,” he added.
The dispute between Ogala and Okafor began last year when a video of the pastor’s engagement to Pearl Okafor surfaced online. Afterwards, Ogala claimed she had been in a romantic relationship with the pastor since 2017.
The actress claimed she ended her previous marriage at his urging and accused him of betraying her after years of intimacy and repeated promises of marriage. She later issued an ultimatum, demanding that Okafor either marry her or pay her N1 billion in damages for an alleged breach of promise.
Ogala also alleged that Okafor was complicit in the poisoning and death of her brother.
Even amid public arguments and threats of legal action, Okafor still married Pearl in both white and traditional ceremonies.
Earlier, the cleric had described Ogala’s outburst as “the devil’s anger” over his public marital happiness.
However, days later, he publicly knelt and apologised to the actress, acknowledging what he described at the time as the truth of her claims regarding their past relationship.
In his latest comments, Okafor has taken back his apology, saying he only apologized to protect respected church leaders, not because he did anything wrong.
