Following the out-cry and publications of a marriage between a teenage girl identified as Blessing Udoye, a student, who lived at Isiokpo, (going by information revealed in the marriage certificate) to a man identified as Okechukwu, Tochukwu, Emmanuel, a graduate of Delta State University, Abraka, and currently a business man, who lives at number 15 Orubor street, Agbor, without the knowledge nor consent of any member of the bride's famil, the Fishers of Men Charismatic Church, the Church that allegedly arranged the said marriage has released some information to the public concerning the marriage through their Facebook page.
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| Okechukwu, Tochukwu, Emmanuel |
Fishers of Men Charismatic Church Press Release Below:
"Our attention as a ministry has been drawn to an allegation by one Raphael Uduoye also known as De raph man, who alleged that Fishers of Men Charismatic Church Isiokpo branch in Imo state conducted the wedding of his younger sister without the consent of the family.
It was said that Blessing Uduoye was kidnapped and hypnotized against her will
That the wedding took place without the presence and consent of the family members
The aforementioned was alleged to be for ritual purpose to get more members between the pastor and the said husband
OUR RESPONSE
We as a ministry is known as advocates for righteousness, holiness, sincerity and love for mankind. Well, it is very unfortunate that when it has to do with the body of Christ it always generates attention and interest from the public especially the negative. In order to get the details of what transpired, the church authority sent investigators undercover to unravel the mystery behind the allegation. To this extent, the outcome of this investigative outing are as follows:
• Blessing Uduoye was there to speak with us amidst smiles and laughter; according to her, she is 18 years old and that’s the information she presented to her pastor.
• The entire family members except Raphael Uduoye who was referred to as dissident were in the traditional marriage and church wedding. Pictorial confirmation to this scenario is available below this article.
• The father was traced to his business place and he gave a full analysis of his consent to the union. Visual evidence of the conversation between the father and the investigator was captured with a phone recorded video because the correspondent had to hide their camera because of the thugs Raphael Uduoye organized against the investigators. The audio version of this engagement is also available although spoken in ibo language.
• The team of investigators also visited the family house of Blessing Uduoye, the mother was interviewed; according to her, “I have prayed for my daughter to have a blissful matrimonial experience”. To consolidate her acceptance, she further prayed for her daughter. In addition, our camera lenses captured the relics of the food and drinks that were consumed during the traditional marriage in her father’s compound. The visual evidence is also available.
• The man who married the said Blessing Uduoye was also interviewed, he confirmed that he is 33years old and presented the marriage registry certificate produced in Ika south local government council of delta state.
• One Samuel defiled the torrential rain during the interview and told us that he was the interpreter during the traditional marriage and church wedding. He however declared that the man who put forward this allegation should go and settle the difference amongst themselves in the family. Persons who witnessed the wedding including the chief of the clan also said they were part of the traditional marriage.
• That the pastor instructed Blessing Uduoye not to tell her parents as a doctrine of the church is a mis-information. We have nothing against Rapheal Uduoye and his family as we preach love and tolerance. However, we expected him to have channeled his grievance to the appropriate quarter instead of engaging in character defamation.
• The groom is a member of Immeasurable grace mission Inc, Agbor in Delta state; he is from obodo-ukwu in the same local government as the bride. The pastor of the groom wrote a letter to the pastor of Fishers of men charismatic church isiokpo, confirming that the groom is eligible to marry and he has fulfilled all the wedding requirement according to their church system. The letter written by Pastor Gideon Ijeh is attached to this article (visual).
Lastly, from our sources, some pictures were taken by the contracted photographer during the traditional marriage, especially when the father of the bride pronounced blessings on the couple, but attempts to locate the photo studio was thwarted by Ralph and his gangs. For many on social media who have reached out to us, we appreciate your love, concern and support. We have now given our own version of what really happened, take the word out and let the world know what really transpired. The church is marching on and the gates of hell shall not prevail against her.
GOD BLESS US ALL!".
In an interview, to clear the air on the controversy surrounding his marriage, read the groom, Mr. Tochukwu, Okechukwu Emmanuel's responds below:
"People are saying that I, Tochukwu, Okechukwu Emmanuel kidnapped one girl, Blessing Udoye, and married her without paying a bride price, I never did something like that. I went and married the girl, I paid the bride price, did everything necessary and in the right process to marry her. So any rumour like that, is a fake rumour, its not the truth, I married her in a right way, in a godly way, that marriage was a divine marriage without any sin".
Reacting to the controversy surrounding his age, Mr. Okechukwu said:
"I am 33-years old, any rumour that says I am 45-years old is a lie , you can watch at me and look the picture of my face, I am not up to 45-years old. I am 33-years-old, so that rumour is fake.
Okechukwu went further to say he registered that said marriage, which according to information revealed, showed it was conducted at the Assemblies of God Church, Agbor, Delta State, Nigeria.
"Yes I registered this wedding at the local government, I can show you the certificate" (showing to the camera, what is believed to be the certificate of the marriage). - He said.
"Yes I registered this wedding at the local government, I can show you the certificate" (showing to the camera, what is believed to be the certificate of the marriage). - He said.
Mr. Emmanuel continued: "This is the certificate of my marriage, I registered it properly, there's no fake about it. It was registered in Delta state local government, and the certificate was issued to me by the marriage board, when I registered it".
Mr. Emmanuel continued: "I love my wife very well, from the first day I met my wife, I saw her, I loved her. And up-till now, I still love her, and I promise that I will always love her.....".
On the allegation that the Pastor arranged and conducted the marriage, Mr. Emmanuel said: "It's a big lie, the Pastor never contracted this marriage, the Pastor only guided me on this marriage, because he is there as my spiritual mentor to guide me on this marriage, not that he arranged a wife for me, its a lie".
On the Bride's Parent's consent: "I married my wife, I paid Pride-Price in her house, and the 'Umu-Nna came, everything they required, they was naming it, in terms of Malt and the rest of them was being given to them, and every requirement, so I married it in a rightful way. And all of them was satisfied, there's nothing like wrong marriage or I did not provide anything that was needed for the marriage. Everything needed for the marriage was provided".Tochukwu, Okechukwu Emmanuel said in an interview.
A closer view of the marriage certificate which was issued by Ika-South Local Government however puts Mr. Tochukwu, Okechukwu Emmanuel's age at 33-years of age, and that of the bride, Blessing Udoye at 19-years-of age.
interviews seen on the Facebook page of Fishers of Men Charismatic Church, showed three elderly women, who identified themselves as from Isiokpo, in Ideato local government area, (Imo State) and members of the bride, Blessing Udoye's family, who went for the marriage rite ceremony spoke in Igbo language:
"What we have to say to people is that when we went there, everything went well. When we went there, our sister, whose marriage ceremony we went to, her name is Blessing Udoye, when we went there, they did everything in peace. Everything went on in her presence, there was no confusion. They performed her marriage rites, all the kinsmen who attended eat to their fill. Everybody was happy. And her father, made everybody understand that of the truth, this child came from his loins. When he was blessing her, at a point he said...oh my daughter, I know that this is not death, go, it will be well. We will met again. At that point, the father burst into tears, so did everybody who attended the marriage rite ceremony. This is because this is a child after her father's heart, that was why he cried. After he cried he blessed his daughter (Blessing).
Concerning the rumour making rounds that Blessing was kidnapped, the spokeswoman said "nothing bad happened at there, it is gossip".
In another video, a woman who identified herself as Blessing Udoye's mother and who spoke in Igbo language, said she is aware of the marriage between her daughter Blessing Udoye and Tochukwu Emmanuel, that she gave her consent, prayed for Blessing and that Tochukwu Emmanuel performed all necessary rites concerning the marriage.
On her own, Blessing Udoye, who appeared later in the interview said she is happy with her marriage. It was revealed that Blessing's father was not available at the time of the interview.
