The founder of Grace Nation International Church, Dr. Chris Okafor, has demanded N500 million in damages and a public apology from a Facebook blogger, Princewill of NewsMattazz with Princewill, over alleged defamatory publications linking him to the death of businessman, Mr Solomon Iwerebor.
Okafor, through his lawyer, Ife Ajayi, Esq., also demanded the immediate deletion of the publications and a written retraction, giving the blogger 48 hours from receipt of a pre-action notice dated November 11, 2026, to comply.
In the notice, addressed to Princewill, the lawyer accused him of publishing false, misleading and malicious allegations against his client on Facebook on November 10.
The lawyer specifically took issue with statements attributed to the blogger, including: “Solomon has been spending money in Chris Okafor’s church for spiritual intervention” and “If you get problem with Chris Okafor and the matter reach Zone 2 Police station him don win.”
Other statements cited in the notice included an allegation that stories associated with the church were largely negative and that Iwerebor’s children wanted Okafor and his wife questioned over their father’s death.
Ajayi described the allegations as false and defamatory, insisting that neither Okafor nor his church had been linked to any police investigation concerning the death.
According to the lawyer, Iwerebor was an extended relative of Okafor’s wife and had been seriously ill for years before the cleric met and married her.
He further alleged that the deceased’s death had triggered disagreements among his surviving siblings over his reported wish to be buried in Lagos rather than in his village.
The lawyer said the disagreement led one faction of the family to petition another, describing the dispute as a family matter that had been wrongly linked to his client.
Ajayi also disputed the allegation that Okafor’s church received money from anyone for spiritual intervention connected to the deceased’s death.
On the impact of the publication, the lawyer claimed that within 19 hours, the Facebook post had attracted more than 4,200 likes and 623 comments, many of which he described as negative and damaging to Okafor, his wife, church and family.
Apart from demanding the removal of the post, retraction and apology, the lawyer said his client was seeking N500 million as general damages.
He warned that failure to meet the demands within 48 hours would leave Okafor with no option but to pursue civil or criminal proceedings.
The lawyer also cautioned bloggers, content creators and social media users against circulating unverified allegations, stressing that freedom of expression did not shield anyone from liability for deliberately publishing false information.
He urged anyone seeking clarification on issues concerning his client to contact him or the cleric’s management for information.
