Metro
Controversy, Denials As Man Accuses Pastor of Snatching, Marrying His Wife
A man, Bright Ben, has accused his pastor and General Overseer of the World Bank Assembly in Eneka, in the Obio-Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State, Moses Adeeyo, of snatching his wife, Tina.
Bright claimed that trouble started after his wife of 12 years was made an assistant choir mistress in the church and she moved out of the house with their two children.
The aggrieved husband said he had been searching for her and called the pastor to seek advice on the matter.
He stated that he knew his wife’s whereabouts on Sunday when he saw pictures of her remarriage.
Bright, in a Facebook post with photos of the alleged marriage of his wife to the cleric, wrote, “As shameful as it sounds, it is a true-life story. My pastor married my wife. I’ve been married to Mrs Tina Bright for over 12 years with two children. I introduced her to my General Overseer of the World Bank Assembly in Eneka, Obio-Akpor Local Government Area in Rivers State. We started attending the church and became full financial members.
“My wife was given an immediate appointment (assistant choir mistress) seven months ago. She moved out of the house with our children before I got back from work. I searched everywhere and called everyone, even the general overseer. Unknown to me, the G.O. was the architect of my problems.
“After some time, he stopped picking my calls and blocked my number. I’ve been looking for her until I saw these pictures yesterday online. He claimed that the Holy Spirit told him that she is his wife. Is the Holy Spirit an author of confusion? My wife of 12 years is now his.”
You’re a liar, you assaulted, sent me packing – wife
In her reaction, Tina, who also took to social media, said she left her husband over alleged assault and maltreatment.
She said, “Bright wants to make me a bad woman on social media. When we were together, he made me incur a lot of debts that I am still paying. He accuses me of infidelity and even disallowed me from pursuing my music career. He once told me that there is no marriage between us and that I am just here to take care of his children. He promised to make my life miserable, including putting acid in my cream. Now, he’s coming on social media to destroy another man’s name. It is my time to shine.
“He is lying that he doesn’t know my whereabouts. I left his house after he locked me inside the house and kept the keys in his pocket. It was then I packed my things and told him it was over. He even told me to leave and that I was only useful for the children. My children got the spare keys, gave them to me and told me to escape at night. On the morning of November 28, 2020, I came to the house with a taxi, packed my load and took my children away. I put my children at my mother’s place and went to Lagos to start my life afresh.
“I was never residing with the pastor. He lived on the church premises and I lived in Lagos. Ben kept calling me while I was in Lagos before I blocked his number. He threatened me not to ever marry another person.”
Tina’s mother, Christiana Everest, said Bright did not pay her daughter’s bride price.
“When Bright came to my house to ask for my daughter’s hand in marriage, I saw him as a son and asked if he was a Christian. I took him to the village according to the tradition. He gave everyone their rights both men and women except the bride’s parents. When they told him to come and see us he said he’ll see us later,” she stated.
Bright, in a video clip, denied assaulting his wife.
He also refuted accusations by her mother that he did not pay her bride price, saying he did during their traditional wedding.
He insisted that he had not been divorced from his wife and wondered why if she wanted to re-marry, it would be to the cleric, whom he always shared his marital problems with.
The pastor’s son, Peter Adeeyo, told PUNCH Metro that his father had yet to divorce his mother.
He said he was as shocked as everyone when pictures of the wedding surfaced on the Internet.
“He said he doesn’t want my mother again. The case over the settlement of my mother has been in court for over one year. My mum was in Abuja when she saw the wedding pictures. Someone called my attention to the pictures when we closed from church on Sunday. My father didn’t inform any family members of the wedding. My dad is telling the world that he has divorced her and that is a lie,” he added.
The pastor did not pick his calls, as his phone rang out and text messages sent to his phone number were not responded to as of the time of filing this report.
The Punch
Metro
Court Grants Cubana Chief Priest N10m Bail
Instagram celebrity, Pascal Okechukwu aka Cubana Chief Priest, on Wednesday, pleaded not guilty for alleged Naira abuse.
He pleaded not guilty to the three-count charge filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The socialite was arraigned at the Federal High Court, Lagos before Justice Kehinde Ogundare on Wednesday.
The anti-graft commission filed a three-count charge against Cubana Chief Priest accused of abusing the naira at a social event, an act said to be contrary to the provisions of the Central Bank Act of 2007.
After pleading not guilty, the court granted him bail in the sum of N10million with two responsible sureties in like sum, who must be gainfully employed with the federal or state government and not less than grade level 16.
The sureties, the court emphasized, should have landed property and the document must be verified by the court.
Cubana Chief Priest is also to submit his travel passport to the custody of the court.
The bail conditions must be perfected within seven days but in the meantime he was released to his lawyer who must give an undertaken to produce him later. Failure to do so, he will be remanded in correctional facility.
The charge filed on April 4 by EFFC’s prosecutor Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN) alongside seven other lawyers representing the chairman of the Commission, are as follows:
Count 1: “That you, Okechukwu Pascal on 13th February, 2024, at Eko Hotel, within the jurisdiction of the court, while dancing during a social event, tampered with funds in the denomination of N500 (Five Hundred Naira) issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria by spraying same for two hours, and you thereby committed an offence, contrary to and punishable under Section 21(1) of the Central Bank Act 2007”.
Count 2: “That you Okechukwu Pascal sometime in 2020, in Lagos during a social event, tampered with funds in the denomination of N500 (Five Hundred Naira) issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria by spraying same for two hours, and you thereby committed an offence, contrary to and punishable under Section 21(1) of the Central Bank Act 2007”.
Count 3: “That you Okechukwu Pascal sometime in January 2024, in Lagos during a social event, tampered with funds in the denomination of N500 (Five Hundred Naira) issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria by spraying same and you thereby committed an offence, contrary to and punishable under Section 21(1) of the Central Bank Act 2007”.
Meanwhile, the defendant also informed the court of his pending application to challenge the jurisdiction of the court to hear the charge.
Justice Ogundare has adjourned till May 2nd to hear the application
This is coming days after the EFCC arraigned controversial cross-dresser Idris Okuneye better known as Bobrisky on similar charges for which he was sentenced to a six-month jail term.
Metro
Nobody Should Rubbish Civil Defence – NAOSNP President, Oki
The President of the National Association of Online Security News Publishers (NAOSNP), Mr. Samson Oki, has commended the solid efforts the men and officers of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) are making in safeguarding the nation’s assets and infrastructure ever since its inception, and more especially under the leadership of the Commandant General, Ahmed Abubakar Audi, saying that nobody has any rights to rubbish the Corps, they have lived up to expectations.
Oki made the remarks when he led a delegation of the Association’s executive to pay a working visit on the Commandant of the Corps, Lagos State Command, Adedotun Sunday Keshinro, in his office at the state headquarters, Alausa, Ikeja.
The NAOSNP president, recognised the achievements of the Lagos Command under the leadership of Keshinro, and urged a continuous synergy between the Corps and the media.
“We have seen. We have heard, and we have reported the gigantic strides you have shown ever since you took over the helms of affairs in Lagos State, and we commend you while urging you to sustain the tempo, taking into cognizance that CG Audi has turned around the fortunes of the Corps in frustrating the activities of oil bunkerers, and assets and infrastructure vandals, ” Oki noted.
He eulogised the cordial relationship that has existed between the media, especially NAOSNP, and the Corps, from the national to the states, adding however, that it could be taken a notch higher by getting the media more involved in the activities of the Corps other than just being recipients of releases and statements.
“Every activity should be reported from various angles, and it behoves on the journalist to witness it, and feed the public with what they see. So there’s the need to invite the media for firsthand information at all times,” Oki harped.
Responding, the State Commandant, who was represented at the meeting by the Deputy Commandant of Corps, Budget, Planning, Research and Statistics (B-PRS), Olusola Jimoh, lauded NAOSNP’s unbiased reportage of security news over the years, urging the members to keep up with the good work, stating that “we are all equal stakeholders in the Nigerian project”.
He further noted that the Association has distinguished itself in reporting security issues, thereby promoting safety and security not only in Lagos State, but the entire nation.
The two groups pledged to sustain their relationship, which has projected the NSCDC in a positive light, and created a positive measuring value for the activities of the Corps.
The President used the opportunity to present a certificate of credence to CC Keshinro to identify with his efforts and achievements as well as invite him and the NSCDC family to the Association’s forthcoming NAOSNP Walks and Workshop billed for May 21 and 22, 2024.
Among other executive members of the Association, who were present at the parley were the Public Relations Officer, Mr. Eric Elezuo; Treasurer, Bakene Kazeem; Mrs. Bose Adelaja, Mr. David Oladimeji, Mr. Femi Arikawe and Mr. Godwin Onyemaechi.
Metro
Days after Oyo Assembly, Gunmen Invade Ekiti Secretariat
Barely three days after armed Yoruba Nation agitators invaded the Oyo State Government Secretariat, gunmen on Tuesday, stormed the Ilejemeje Local Government Area Secretariat in Ẹda-Oniyọ, Ekiti State, causing pandemonium among the workers.
The attackers disrupted normal activities and forced employees to flee the premises for safety.
The hoodlums, who were said to have come from the Obbo-Ayegunle community in the neighbouring Kwara State, violently stormed the secretariat, firing several gunshots, making workers run in different directions for dear lives, and in the ensuing pandemonium, one person was injured.
Reports said the hoodlums vandalized the Secretariat building and other property of the council.
Although the cause of the attack was still sketchy as at the time of filling this report, it was however gathered that the two communities have been embroiled in crisis for some time over land disputes.
During the attack, which lasted for several hours, one person was said to have sustained serious injury and rushed to the State Specialist Hospital in Iye-Ekiti.
The hoodlums reportedly heavily armed with dangerous weapons including gun, charms and cutlasses. They invaded the Secretariat at about 10:am.
Speaking on the attack, the Eleda of Eda Oniyo community, Oba Awodipo Awolola, explained that the hoodlums had in few days attacked some residents of the community, with charm in their farmlands, the development which the monarch said had resulted in panic and tension in the community.
The traditional ruler, who lamented the absence of police post in the area, said there is a need for security outfits to mobilise more officer to the community to prevent further breaking of law and orders.
Similarly, the Chairman of Ilejemaje Local Government, Mr. Alaba Dada, said the suspected hoodlums were from the Obbo-Ayegunle community in Kwara State.
He attributed the attacks to the lingering land disputes between the two communities, he explained that though security agents had been mobilised to the town to prevent repraisal attacks.
He said there is need for the Ekiti and Kwara State governments to meet, and settle the land dispute in the interest of peace and harmonious relationship.