NIGERIA: Veteran actress and pastor, Eucharia Anunobi, has disclosed that she has taken formal legal steps against Apostle Psalm Okpe, the founder of the US-based Fresh Oil Ministry International Church, following the circulation of an audio recording linked to him.
The audio, which surfaced online, is said to contain a phone conversation between Apostle Okpe and Pastor Martin. In the recording, the cleric allegedly claimed that he dated and had sexual relations with Anunobi for more than five years.
Reacting to the allegation in a series of videos shared on her Instagram page on Sunday, the 60-year-old actress strongly rejected the claims. She described Apostle Okpe’s statements as “false, defamatory and damaging to her reputation.”
Explaining her decision to seek justice, Anunobi said the matter could not be ignored because of the emotional pain it had caused her and the alleged threats she had endured over the years.
She said: “I am not going to allow that to be swept under the carpet because that malicious, vile statement has left me in emotional trauma. And it is also a testament to his threats over the years to destroy my ministry. So I have instituted legal action so that he can come and prove that he dated me for 5 years and 6 months.
“My lawyers have been instructed to start the process of writing a petition to the Nigerian police force, the U.S. Security and Immigration Department, against Psalm Okpe, for defamatory accusations, bothering on issues that I do not know, defamatory accusations that is out to tarnish my integrity, my reputation as a renowned actress and a preacher of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
She further warned that her safety and that of her family must be taken seriously, stating that Apostle Okpe should be held accountable for any harm that may come to her.
According to her: “If anything happens to me, my material possessions, acquisitions and family members here in Nigeria and outside Nigeria, as in physical injury, harm or death, Apostle Psalm Okpe, founder of Fresh Oil Ministry, Egbeda, Lagos, Nigeria and his entire family should be held responsible.
“I am ready to be taken for medical examination to ascertain if I have been having sex in almost 14 years (almost fourteen years), if there is anything like that, since I have been ordained (midwifed into Ministry)”, she noted.
Anunobi also dismissed the idea that Apostle Okpe could have dated her, insisting that such a claim was unrealistic and imaginary. She said he was never on her level and described the allegation as pure fantasy.
Addressing him directly, she said: “Psalm Okpe, you claimed that you dated me for five years, six months. You claimed you had sex with me for five years, six months. Do you know what it means to date? You couldn’t date me. You wish you could date me. How could you date me? You beggarly, miserable street urchin. I was giving you money to support your ministry because I am sold out to the things of the kingdom.
“So how could I date you? How could you date me? You can’t afford me. I am a higher class. The records are there. The bank records are there. Oh, you have suddenly forgotten. Oh, you wish you could date me. Hallucinating monster. You wish in your dreams”, said the actress.
Speaking on her personal life, Anunobi stated that she has remained celibate since dedicating her life fully to Jesus Christ fourteen years ago. She explained that while she has been in relationships and engagements, none involved sexual intimacy.
She said: “Psalm Okpe, not only are you vile, you are malicious, wicked and mean. Everything evil, it’s your name. And through the recent trending video, you have shown your anger, jealousy and bitterness towards me. That being said, I want to state here categorically that in almost 14 years since I have been midwived into ministry, I have been celibate and have been keeping myself for the man that will be deserving of my new virginity.
“That is not to say that I have not been in courtship or not been engaged. I have been engaged all this while severally. I have been in courtship all this time. But none of these men can come out and say they have had penile penetration with me. None of them can say they have had sex with me.”
The actress also confirmed that Apostle Okpe played a role in her ordination and introduction into ministry. However, she said she later distanced herself from his church after observing what she described as troubling practices.
According to her: “Serving as an associate pastor under his ministry, as time went by, I began to see a lot of evil and demonic things and especially his continuous engagement in transactional ministry.
These things left me very uncomfortable, and I felt that it was a toxic environment, and I knew it was not going to be good for me as a righteousness preacher. In late 2015, I went to him, and I said I wanted to be released.
“He said no, he was not going to release me yet, that he had not made up his mind. While I was still in the ministry, I used to hear a lot of people saying to me that they heard the Apostle Okpe threatening that he midwifed me into ministry, he ordained me into ministry, that he was going to destroy my ministry”, said Anunobi.
She added that even after leaving the ministry, Apostle Okpe allegedly continued to mislead people into believing she was still under him. She said this behaviour further confirmed his bitterness toward her.
Sharing her experience, she said: “After I had left, people would call me or send me messages via the internet asking about my whereabouts, still asking whether I am still in his ministry, and I would tell them no, I had left years ago. They said, but we went there now, and we asked him where you are, and he told them that I just travelled for my acting work. I said, but I left two years ago, or I left three years ago.
“They said, Are you serious? I said, Yes, I have left a long time ago. So he kept lying to people that I was still in his ministry, even though I had left years ago. So this authenticates the fact that he is embittered and jealous of me and truly meant to harm me as he had been saying behind my back.”
In an earlier development, Anunobi had shared screenshots on her Instagram page suggesting that Apostle Okpe had apologised for his remarks. During a TikTok Live session with her followers, she also described the preacher as a “monumental global embarrassment.”
She said: “God has made the man who tried to tarnish my image a monumental global shame. He has confessed. And may the thunder of God fire everyone of you who have been writing negatively.”
