The woman, Glory Ibeh, accused her husband, Pastor Amadi Ibeh, before an Ojo customary court, of, among other things, sleeping with many of the church’s female members, battering, lack of respect and love as well as neglect of his duties as a husband and father.
The petitioner told the court that the cracks in their seven-year-old marriage became expanded when she started noticing unusual closeness between her husband and some female members of the church.
“Then I started hearing rumours of how he has been desecrating the house of God by having carnal knowledge of some of his prayer partners. I openly confronted him and he denied it vehemently.”
After the first encounter, all efforts to make her husband stop unholy dalliances, she said, was unsuccessful as he went haywire and fell deeper into them. The actions of the man of God, Mrs Ibeh said, began having effects on the church and was at the verge of tearing the house of God apart.
She said that anytime she confronted her husband on the allegations of desecrating the house of God, she got the beating of her life.
“I couldn’t condone it any more; it was becoming so glaring and disturbing. As a wife who cares about her husband and the welfare of the church, I asked him again if he had any sexual relationship with some women in the church, but he descended on me and hit me mercilessly. His beating later became constant and our marriage began to fall apart.”
Since all her efforts to make her husband turn a new leaf failed, Gloria who claims to be a prophetess, settled for a formal dissolution of the union to give way for peace and the separation of their ministry.
Meanwhile, when the visibly embittered man was summoned into the evidence box to either affirm or deny the allegations levelled on him, it was a twist of tale from his account.
Pastor Amadi vehemently denied soiling his hands in any form of adultery, but maintained that his wife was badly influenced by her friends and family who kept feeding her with false news and bad advice.
“I have tried all I can to make her believe in me and concentrate on taking our ministry to greater heights but she wouldn’t listen.
“I thought that my wife would one day change from her awkward behaviour but to my utmost dismay, I came back from my office one fateful day to meet my house deserted. She had packed out all her belongings, including mine. These included my money, clothes, and other accessories. And till date, she is yet to return them to me.
“I am also fed up with her behaviour but I don’t want to quit the union. I believe that with God, everything is possible. I plead with the honorable court to intercede on my behalf to beg her to come back home.”
After listening to both parties, the members of the court tried to mediate and broker peace between them but the woman was adamant and insisted on divorce and nothing less.
However the bride price paid on her was advised to be returned as a starting point for the divorce proceedings.
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