Nollywood actress and member of the Actors Guild of Nigeria, Ms. Doris Ogala, has issued a formal demand to Lagos-based cleric, Pastor Chris Okafor, founder of Grace Nation Liberation City, seeking N1 billion in aggravated damages over an alleged breach of promise to marry.
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The demand, dated December 16, 2025, was conveyed through her lawyers, Synergy Law Partners, in a letter addressed to Pastor Okafor at his Ojodu Berger address, warning of imminent legal action should the cleric fail to comply within 21 days.
According to the letter, Ogala alleged that Pastor Okafor made a “clear, consistent and unequivocal” promise to marry her, which she said formed the basis of a long-standing personal relationship that began in 2017.
The relationship, the lawyers claimed, commenced at a time when the actress was experiencing emotional distress and seeking pastoral support.
Her counsel maintained that the alleged promise was not merely verbal, but reinforced by conduct, including introductions to the cleric’s family and public appearances at family events.
The letter claimed that photographs, videos, WhatsApp messages and banking records exist to substantiate the actress’s position and establish what her lawyers described as a legitimate expectation of marriage.
Ogala further alleged that she relied on the promise to her detriment, taking what her lawyers described as “irreversible steps” based on assurances of marital commitment.
Among these, the letter claimed she exited a troubled marriage, abandoning prospects of reconciliation because of the security she believed the promised union offered.
The demand also alleged significant financial loss. Ogala claimed she entrusted Pastor Okafor with the sum of N45 million in a single transaction, allegedly granting him access to her financial affairs on the strength of the relationship and promise of marriage.
The dispute escalated, according to the lawyers, when Pastor Okafor publicly announced his engagement to another woman, an act they described as a clear repudiation of the alleged promise.
They argued that the manner of the announcement caused severe emotional and reputational harm to their client, who they noted is a public figure.
The letter further alleged that Ogala has since been subjected to intense public scrutiny, online harassment and victim-shaming, which her lawyers attributed to the fallout from the cleric’s actions.
They also accused Pastor Okafor of responsibility for the alleged unauthorised circulation of private photographs, an allegation the cleric has not publicly responded to as of press time.
While stressing that marriage cannot be forced, Ogala’s lawyers argued that the law provides remedies for breach of promise and aggravated harm.
They therefore demanded N1 billion as general and aggravated damages, citing reputational injury, emotional distress and the public nature of the alleged breach.
The lawyers gave Pastor Okafor 21 days to pay the demanded sum, warning that failure to do so would result in a suit before a court of competent jurisdiction.
Despite the allegations, the founder of the Mountain of Liberation and Miracle Ministry, popularly known as Liberation City, Chris Okafor, married his partner, Pearl, amid the ongoing controversy.
Pictures from both the traditional and white wedding ceremonies of the pastor and Pearl surfaced on social media on Wednesday.
Reports indicated that the ceremonies took place on Tuesday in Lekki, Lagos.
The wedding was reportedly attended by a large crowd of family members and friends, who gathered to celebrate the union.
Recall that Ms Ogala accused the cleric of ruining her life, alleging that he ended their nine-year relationship to marry another woman.
She claimed that the pastor would never marry anyone else and vowed to disrupt the wedding.
However, the actress revealed in a video shared on her Instagram page on Monday that the only condition under which Mr Okafor could marry was his full compliance with her demands.
She said his lawyer was already working on the conditions she presented to the clergyman, adding that one non-negotiable demand was that he must buy her a house.
“I don’t lie. Before Chris will beg me, he’ll buy me a house. Will the man I dated for seven to eight years leave me to marry another woman? Since 2017, he has not given me money. The only money I collected from him is #300,000. My lawyer is writing my demands. Don’t make it look like I’m not demanding anything. This man told me to leave my marriage. This one left me shattered, and he wanted to marry,” Ogala said.
“No, he’ll settle me. It is my right I’m asking for. Since 2017, nine years of sleeping with me back-to-back. You said he shouldn’t give me anything and just marry like that. But he’ll buy a house for me. If he settles and buys me a house, why will I stop the marriage? Since 2017, my brother died, and I went to the cell, and I wouldn’t make demands. My demand is coming; it’s in the law, so he’ll buy me a house. In the law, you can’t promise a woman marriage and break her or leave her and won’t give her anything, it’s not possible,” she added.
She further stated that she possessed evidence showing that Mr Okafor promised to marry her.
The actress also dismissed claims that she was acting maliciously or deliberately seeking to disrupt another person’s happiness.
“I’m Doris. He asked me a question and said, ‘What is your profession?’ I’m an actor. I have a demand. He disgraced my life. Took away my career. I’m not okay, I’m suicidal. I can’t do anything at this point. Chris must settle with me, or we will die in the marriage. Whether he leaves the marriage and marries me, or buys me a house,” she stated.
“He has been sleeping with me since 2017. I can calculate how much. Did you tell me that I was also buying gifts for his children? I’m not a wicked person; it’s my right, and he will do it; he will buy me the house. My demand paper is coming. I’ll soon serve him,” she added.
Mr Okafor, while responding to Ogala’s allegations during his sermon on Sunday, stated that no man would willingly choose to settle down with an arrogant woman.
He further claimed that no man would marry a woman from a household lacking a good name or respectable reputation.
“You are a young lady being arrogant, behaving and talking to people anyhow, saying ‘I don’t respect anybody because I am not well.’ You are a young lady, unmarried, and you are talking like that. Which man will marry who’s not well? Which man wants to marry you when they know that you have slept with different men? God forbid. I know what I’m saying might be painful, but we listen; the truth is better. It’s bitter, but it’s better for us,” he said.
Mr Okafor was previously married to Bessem Okafor, who accused him in 2014 of physically assaulting her at their Magodo, Lagos home, according to Daily Post.
Bessem, who left the marital home in 2012, alleged that the assault occurred when she visited to see their four children, who were in their father’s custody at the time.
In a 2019 interview with City People, Mr Okafor stated that he had not remarried since his divorce, explaining that he was unwilling to settle down with a woman who might later pose a threat to him.
He said, “I don’t want to marry someone who will become a threat to my children, because once a woman comes in and she starts having children, the first thing they’ll begin to say is, Oh, maybe this man is rich or something and your children become a target. I wouldn’t want to put my children in such a situation. You see, you don’t deliberately go into danger without seeing it.”
Efforts to reach Pastor Okafor and his legal team for comments on the N1 billion demand were unsuccessful at press time.
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