The Senior Pastor of the Mountain of Liberation and Miracles Ministries, Chris Okafor, has stepped down from pastoral duties amid growing outrage over multiple sexual allegations against him.
The cleric had last Sunday publicly apologised to an actress, Doris Ogala, during a service at his church, where he knelt on the pulpit, admitted to past “mistakes,” and sought forgiveness.
The development follows his wedding to a new bride, identified simply as Pearl, on December 16, 2025, and attended by prominent clerics.
Okafor was said to have gone ahead with the ceremony despite Ogala’s viral accusations of betrayal, emotional manipulation and reneging on a promise of marriage after a long-term relationship.
As the allegations escalated on social media in recent weeks, with more women coming forward with different narrations, Saturday PUNCH gathered that respected leaders in the Christian community pressured Okafor to step down in order to douse tension.
A senior executive of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, who is close to the pastor, confirmed this to newsmen.
“There are more things to be done in terms of disciplinary actions,” the official added.
The source explained that the festive period had slowed down deliberations within the PFN on the scandal, as meetings could not be convened to formally discuss the matter.
“Meetings could not be held to deliberate on actions against him (Okafor). But from the pressure from some of the leaders in the body of Christ, he has stepped down for a month. I believe that before the month ends, some decisions would have been made concerning him,” the official stated.
When asked if the PFN would investigate the allegations against the pastor, the official said, “I don’t think it is the PFN that should do that. We are not the police, nor are we a law enforcement agency. If there is an allegation of rape against a pastor, it is not the PFN that should investigate it. I want Nigerians to get this right: even if we do any form of inquiry, we cannot arrest anyone. This is a criminal case, and the government should step in.
“However, this does not mean that PFN does not act in situations like this. What PFN or the body of Christ can do is what we call spiritual pressure and discipline; there are other areas where the police should investigate. PFN does not have the statutory power to investigate or arrest when it comes to criminal allegations.”
He added that although PFN was engaging the issue quietly, its actions should not be misconstrued as a formal investigation.
“On Pastor Okafor’s matter, there are a lot of things PFN is doing behind the scenes, but I don’t want to call these things an investigation. It is not for public consumption for now. His stepping down is part of the action that PFN and the body of Christ pressured him to take.
“When we saw the enormity of the allegations, and it was already looking like a criminal matter, we had to step in and do our part, but the government also has to play its role,” the source added.
However, the pastor, during his sermon at the church’s New Year crossover service on Wednesday night, said his decision to step down was for spiritual renewal.
“I will be resting. It would be time for personal retreat with God and time for me and my wife to rest,” the pastor told his congregation.
“Since our wedding, we have not rested. We have not had time. We have not even done our honeymoon. So, we are stepping aside to pray, to have a retreat and to rest from this January, and to return better and stronger from the presence of the Lord.”
Okafor said the break, which he noted did not mean he would be totally absent from church activities, would last until February.
The flurry of allegations against the cleric began on December 14 when actress Ogala posted several emotional videos on her Instagram page.
In the clips, she accused the pastor of having sexual relationship with her, which allegedly began in 2017 and lasted for nine years.
The actress said the cleric promised her marriage many times before marrying another woman in December 2025.
In the videos, she also accused Okafor of sharing her explicit videos and photos.
She said the pastor contributed to the breakdown of her previous marriage and caused her emotional distress and financial loss.
The actress also shared some bedroom photos and screenshots of conversations, with videos claiming the pastor sent her $10,000 to retract her statements and claim that a rival pastor orchestrated the accusations.
She later demanded N1bn in damages via a legal notice filed through her legal team, alleging threats and intimidation after she was arrested and detained by the police.
As the scandal escalated, some other women also alleged sexual misconduct, manipulation, infidelity and related issues against the pastor.
One of them was his former wife, Bessem Okafor, who accused Okafor of infidelity, deception and physical assault.
Speaking in an interview with popular YouTuber, Aunty Adunni, the woman said she left the cleric 14 years ago due to the shame from his alleged actions.
In another video shared on Aunty Adunni’s YouTube channel, a lady identified simply as Ebere, said to be a former member of Okafor’s church choir, also accused him of having secret affairs with her.
The lady said her relationship with the pastor started around 2015 and lasted for many years, during which she allegedly had four abortions for him.
Ebere claimed the pastor promised her marriage multiple times but backed out, adding that she eventually kept one pregnancy for him, which resulted in a child.
Few days ago, a video surfaced on Instagram in which another lady made fresh allegations against Okafor.
She accused the pastor of having sexual relations with her and her sister, which she said resulted in pregnancies.
The lady claimed that the children involved resembled the pastor, calling for a DNA test to confirm her claims and insisting that she had evidence to support her allegations.
A social media activist, Martin Otse, aka VeryDarkMan, also shared an audio clip via his Instagram page a few days to Christmas, in which a lady, Chidera Okafor, who claimed to be the pastor’s daughter, accused him of making amorous advances towards her in the house.
She said the situation forced her to flee their home in 2020 after she reported the matter to her mother.
However, the claim was dismissed by the pastor in a viral video that gained traction during the week.
The Lagos State Police Command has said it cannot arrest the embattled pastor because there has been no formal petition against him from the victims.
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