SHOW OF SHAME! MARRIED COUPLE FIGHT DIRTY OVER CHURCH'S ASSETS, PROCEEDS. TRADE PUNCHES IN PUBLIC, DRAG EACH OTHER TO POLICE STATION

A married couple Pastor Ralph Okebu and Prophetess Caroline Okebu are at the moment locked in a legal battle over the ownership and control of the church they started together - Victory Pentecostal Ministeries International Incorporated, Enugu.

Incredible as it appear, for about a year now, Pastor Ralph and his wife, Prophetess Car­oline (aka Mummy Victory), who are blessed with two teenage daughters have been having a running battle over the ownership of the church and its assets. According to a report in SUN allegations of violence, philandering, greed, money mon­gering, deceit and quest to convert church auditorium into a warehouse tore the pastor and his wife apart.

Presently the church has been factional­ized, some of the mem­bers became loyal to Pastor Ralph while some others pitched their tent with his wife, Caroline. The fight have gotten to a situation such that congre­gants supporting either side fought physically over the use of the church auditorium located at Km 1 Enugu/ Onitsha Expressway. It took the in­tervention of the police to restore some form of order in the church. And for two Sundays, security agents were stationed at the premis­es to avoid bloodshed.

The couple and some leaders of the church and other members have also being regular visitors at various police stations in Enugu, as they made allegations and counter allegations against them­selves. In fact, the pastor and his wife reportedly traded punches and ended up at the police station. One of the trustees, Deacon Uchenna Ani, who said that he reg­istered the ministry exclusively with his funds, also volunteered: “Honest­ly, the situation became so explosive that there was physical scuffle. The police was invited and we’ve been moving from one police station to the other.” The church administrator, Barris­ter Chucks Okonkwo equally told the reporter that it got to a point that “the police came in and the Enugu State Commissioner of Police personally took over the matter and was medi­ating.

The police at some decided with the leader­ship of both factions that the Ralph Okebu-led group should be having morning service to dismiss at 12noon while the Prophetess Caroline-led group would have their own service thereafter. This was accepted and services have been operating that way, but unfortunately, Ralph Okebu feels that the church is his personal business and is determined to chase out any­one that does not agree with him.

The pastor went to court claiming that his wife and Ani, two of the four trustees of the ministry had ceased to be members of the ministry and should not have access to the proper­ty of the church. But in their submission, the defen­dants urged the court to hold that it does not have the jurisdiction to hear and determine the suit, which bothers on claim of title to the land where the church operates.