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.
In separate interviews with Saturday PUNCH, several members of the church, however, dismissed the allegations, describing them as desperate moves by individuals trying to extort money from their “man of God”.
The pressure to step down
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 one of our correspondents.
“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.
‘I stepped down on God’s instruction’
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.
Speaking to Saturday PUNCH, the spokesperson for the command, Abimbola Adebisi, said she was not aware of any complaints against Okafor despite the swirling allegations on social media.
“If there is any, the department handling it would have briefed me. Anyone with a petition can come forward,” Adebisi said.
Members defend pastor
Saturday PUNCH visited the church headquarters in the Ojodu area of Lagos on Thursday and Friday.
During the Thursday visit, a church pastor and a security guard told one of our correspondents to return the following day to speak with some officials.
However, when the reporter returned on Friday, two ladies at the church reception were unwilling to comment on the matter or link the reporter with anyone to address the allegations, saying the pastor had left everything to God.
But two elderly church members, who spoke to our correspondent, dismissed the allegations as lies, blackmail and the handiwork of detractors.
