Founder of Grace Nation Liberation City, Pastor Chris Okafor, has rejected allegations that he abandoned his children, describing the claims as false and deliberately crafted to tarnish his image.
The denial followed a viral Instagram interview conducted by social media commentator VeryDarkMan, in which a young woman identified as Chi Okafor alleged that she and her two sisters are the biological daughters of the cleric and were abandoned by him.
In a statement released on Wednesday through his legal team, Okafor dismissed the accusations as “false and misleading,” blaming what he called “jobless agents of destruction” for sponsoring narratives aimed at damaging his ministry.
The statement disclosed that a formal warning letter has been issued to VeryDarkMan, accusing him of using his online platforms to “continuously harass, defame and incite members of the public” against the pastor under the guise of activism.
Okafor faulted the publication of the interview, saying the activist failed to seek his response before circulating what he described as “malicious and self-serving content.”
“We therefore state categorically, emphatically, and unequivocally that the claims made by the so-called Ms. Chi Okafor are entirely false, misleading, malicious, inciting, and gravely injurious to the personality and character of our client,” the statement said.
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Providing background to the controversy, the cleric’s lawyers said Okafor had agreed to marry the woman during his early years in ministry after she claimed to be pregnant for him.
They alleged that problems later emerged in the marriage, which escalated after Okafor was kidnapped and held for about 50 days.
According to the statement, the woman reportedly denied knowing him when contacted by the abductors for ransom and later diverted funds raised by his family to facilitate his release.
Following his eventual freedom, the lawyers said disagreements led to questions surrounding the paternity of the children, prompting Okafor to request a DNA test.
“The DNA test results shockingly returned negative, confirming that neither the first nor the second child was biologically related to our client,” the statement reads.
“The DNA test certificate is in the possession of the impostor’s mother, and our client hereby challenges her to produce the said certificate or test result to the public.”
The statement added that after the revelation, Okafor and the woman ended their relationship and went their separate ways, with the children leaving with their mother.
Despite the outcome, the cleric reportedly continued to support the children’s education and welfare “out of compassion and goodwill,” stressing that such assistance should not be mistaken for an admission of paternity.
His legal team described the continued portrayal of the children as his and allegations of abandonment as “misrepresentation and libel.”
They demanded an immediate withdrawal of all defamatory publications, public apologies in two national newspapers, removal of related online content, and a fresh DNA test if previous results cannot be produced.
“Failure to comply with these demands will leave our client with no option but to pursue all available legal remedies to protect his reputation, integrity and ministry,” the statement concluded.