Senior Pastor of the Mountain of Liberation and Miracle Ministries, Dr. Chris Okafor, has demanded that a woman, Ms Chi Okafor, who claims to be his biological daughter, submit herself to a DNA test to substantiate her allegation.
Speaking through his lawyer, Maxwell Opara, at a press conference in Owerri on Wednesday, the cleric denied the paternity claim, describing it as false, defamatory, and damaging to his reputation.
Dr. Okafor also demanded an immediate retraction of all publications linking him to the alleged daughter, as well as a public apology, warning that failure to comply would result in legal action.
According to the lawyer, the pastor maintains that neither Ms Chi Okafor nor her sibling is his biological child, insisting that both were products of infidelity by his estranged wife.
Barrister Opara said the publications attributed to the claimant amounted to cyber incitement, cyberbullying, cyber harassment, cyberstalking, criminal defamation, and malicious impersonation.
“Any assertion suggesting that our client abandoned a spouse or children is false, misleading, and defamatory,” the lawyer said.
He added that the claimant had been presenting herself on social media as Dr. Okafor’s daughter while making allegations of abandonment and neglect, which he described as a gross misrepresentation of facts.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the continued public portrayal of Ms Chi Okafor and her sibling as children of our client, and the publication of statements alleging abandonment, amount to libel and are wholly unacceptable,” Opara stated.
The lawyer formally demanded the immediate retraction of all defamatory statements, the publication of a written apology in two national newspapers, and the removal of all online content linking the pastor to the paternity claim.
He further challenged the claimant to submit herself and her sibling for a DNA test at a mutually agreed and reputable medical facility, noting that no valid DNA report had been presented to support her claims.
Opara warned that failure to comply with these demands would compel the pastor to pursue all available legal remedies to protect his reputation, integrity, and ministry.
Dr. Okafor also cautioned social media personalities, including Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, as well as actress Doris Ogala and others, to desist from amplifying what he described as falsehoods against him.
