Deeper Life youth pastor, wife in messy divorce battle
By Daylight
May 17, 2025
The estranged couple
When Ezekiel and Omolara wedded four years ago, no one imagined that the union would unravel into a storm of resentment and public accusations.
What began as a union built on shared faith and Christian values has spiralled into a bitter public feud, as the couple now accuse each other of domestic abuse, deception, betrayal, and emotional trauma.
The once-a-model church couple are at war over a marriage that has left them emotionally bruised, and their young children caught in the middle.
Now separated, the couple has taken their grievances beyond third parties; they now share painful details in interviews, podcasts, and social media posts.
The feud between Omolara and Ezekiel, a former youth pastor with the Deeper Life Bible Church, gained public attention when the wife appeared on a podcast, ‘Talk to B’, hosted by popular Nollywood actress, Biola Adebayo.
In the YouTube video, a visibly emotional Omolara detailed allegations of physical abuse, marital neglect, infidelity, and emotional trauma allegedly inflicted on her by her 35-year-old estranged husband.
She also accused her mother-in-law of assaulting her, adding that her sister-in-law also poisoned her by deliberately giving her a meal she was allergic to, to “test” if she was telling the truth.
The claims were denied by her husband and his family.
I have four months to live – Omolara
Omolara, between sobs, narrated how she was allegedly maltreated by her husband and his family.
She also stated that she was battling several health challenges, including lumbar spondylosis, a degenerative spinal condition.
Amid the health battles, 29-year-old Omolara claimed doctors at a Qatar hospital told her she only had nine months to live some five months ago.
Speaking with Saturday PUNCH, Omolara said, “On the day of my traditional wedding, I was held up by the traffic and arrived at the venue late, but my mother-in-law wanted to beat me up because of this.
“I endured because I loved my husband. I entered the marriage, and we had twin girls through a Cesarean section. Because I was given a spinal epidural during the operation, the doctor instructed my husband that I should sleep on an orthopedic bed, so he went to get a special bed for me.
“My mother-in-law came to help take care of the babies. Eight days after I gave birth, my mother-in-law slapped me violently at the spot where I had the procedure while I was sleeping.
“I started feeling pains, and we went to the hospital. We did an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scan, which revealed that I had lumbar spondylosis. Lumbar spondylosis is a degenerative spinal disc. The doctors told me that by that beating, the disc holding my spinal cord shifted, and this worsened my condition.
“Since my mother-in-law beat me up, I have been receiving treatment and getting injections daily.
“My mother-in-law’s lastborn, who lived with us, also poisoned me. It was our landlord who took me to the hospital and paid N150,000 for my treatment.”
Omolara disclosed that amid the crisis in her marriage, her husband got promoted at work and was transferred to Qatar.
She added that Ezekiel initially did not allow her and the children to relocate with him, but after much pleading, he changed his mind, and they joined him about two months later.
“While in Nigeria, I always reported the abuse I suffered at the hands of my husband and her mother to our church leaders, but they always told me to apologise to them instead. We relocated to Qatar, where things got worse, and I suffered more abuse in my marriage.
“He stopped taking care of me and my children; he maltreated me and cheated on me with different women, including our housemaids, but I endured all these. I spent six months in Qatar. During my stay there, the pain in my spinal cord resurfaced.
“One day, I fainted and was rushed to Hamad International Hospital in Qatar, but my husband refused to come to the hospital. He told them at the hospital that I was a drama queen, and that they should discharge me when I stop acting.
“I took five bags of morphine and five bags of tramadol painkiller. When my husband eventually came to the hospital, he did not come to the ward to check on me; he just asked where the children were, took them, and went home.
“The doctors said that because I did not have access to medical treatment, my health got worse. They also said I had pyelonephritis, which is an infection of the kidney, and that if I did not get treatment on time, I had nine months to live,” Omolara said.
She added that despite her condition, her estranged husband kept maltreating her.
My daughter’s husband manipulative – Omolara’s mum
Also speaking with Saturday PUNCH, Omolara’s mother, Mrs. Adeyanju, described Inyang as a “wicked and manipulative liar” who almost destroyed her daughter’s life.
She also accused his mother of victimising Omolara from the beginning of the marriage.
“He called himself a pastor, but he never exhibited Christ-like character. He does not deserve to be anybody’s husband. He was disrespectful and treated me and my daughter like we were nothing to him.
“It is unfortunate that my daughter had to put up with the years of abuse, emotional torture and victimisation all in the name of marriage.
“On several occasions, I intervened personally in their crisis, but Ezekiel was never willing to change, despite all the love and support my daughter gave him.
“He maltreated her and the children to the point that people started calling my attention to how malnourished Omolara and her children were looking.
“Ezekiel is a sexual predator who preyed on young girls in the guise of being a youth pastor. He was engaging in all forms of sexual immorality even when he was married to my daughter,” she said.
I married the devil – Ezekiel
But Ezekiel denied the allegations, describing his estranged wife as “a liar and the devil’s daughter”.
He claimed that she hid her past relationships and medical condition from him before their marriage.
According to him, Omolara’s health challenge started a few days after their marriage.
“Her health challenges started with complaints about back pain, abdominal pain, which I thought was because of pregnancy.
“All through the time she was going in and out of hospitals, I never turned my back on her. I took her to hospitals and slept on the floor.
“We were married for four years. I spent those years moving from one hospital to another. I lost all the foreign contract jobs paying me in hard currency during the period. I went through hell, but I stood by her. However, every time she got a little strength, Omolara made my life a living hell,” Ezekiel said.
He denied the allegation that Omolara was poisoned by his sister, saying there was no reason for such.
Ezekiel insisted that his estranged wife was only bent on destroying his reputation, adding that despite provocations, he never hit her once.
He regretted not listening to his friends and church members, who warned him against the union.
He claimed that Omolara tricked him into the marriage and pestered him for a court wedding to trap him.
“I really loved that lady; I don’t know why. Sometimes, we love our destruction. Even while we were dating, I paid her school fees, including accommodation.
“I think it was my foolishness and stupidity. Everybody was against the marriage, including her father, but I refused to listen to them.
“We dated for two years, and there was no trace of her bad behavior during this period, except for the fact that I noticed that sometimes, when I did something that she didn’t like, she would find a way to muzzle her anger.”
Ezekiel also accused Omolara of extra-marital affairs in Qatar.
“It actually started from Nigeria. I started noticing some things; my wife would go out and come in, and then she would remove her underwear, and I would perceive that this lady had been sexually active — from the smell. But because she was a Christian and I was a leader in the church, I couldn’t suspect my wife. It wasn’t reasonable. So, I just thought, no, maybe it’s something else.
“One time, I saw a male condom in her pocket. There was a time I checked her phone and read some of her chats; I saw a lot of chats with men. She had deleted all the prior messages, but I could see responses that implied there were previous dirty conversations.
“This got me scared. I thought, who did I marry, for goodness’ sake? Her colleagues at the nursing school I enrolled her in at Qatar also informed me of her escapades with different men,” he alleged.
Ezekiel said his wife’s suspicious behaviour made him probe her past.
According to him, he travelled down to Nigeria to meet one of her friends, identified as Funke.
He claimed that Funke initiated a conference call with some mutual friends as they spoke about Omolara’s alleged sexcapades in school.
“I was standing there; my legs were shaking. I couldn’t bear it. I picked up the phone and asked her, ‘Is there something you want to tell me about your past that you have not mentioned to me?’ She said, ‘Nothing.’
“I think she suspected I was getting information. She started messaging Funke, and at a point, she threatened Funke,” Ezekiel said.
In one of the voice recordings shared with Saturday PUNCH, Omolara’s friends were heard discussing how she allegedly slept with some lecturers and procured abortions.
In another voice recording, Omolara was heard begging Funke not to reveal certain things to her husband.
Ezekiel further accused his estranged wife of being addicted to opioids.
He claimed that her addiction began shortly after childbirth and worsened over time, contributing to the breakdown of their marriage.
According to him, Omolara’s dependence on painkillers and other substances led to frequent mood swings and outbursts.
“I have several videos of her injecting herself with opioids in the thigh. This is not just medication; she had become addicted to it. It was after she left (Qatar) when I was searching the house to see anything that belonged to her that I saw packs of pentazocine, tramadol, all these heavy opioids, with empty syringes under the bed.
“And she doesn’t hide them anymore; that is the level she has got to now. Right in her nursing school, they were calling to inform me that during classes, she brought out injections and stabbed herself in the leg,” he said.
Ezekiel attributed Omolara’s failing health to drug addiction, which he claimed damaged her organs.
“So, what she is doing now is to put those blames on me and my family. She is trying to make the world think that whatever happened was caused by my family. She has put my parents’ house address online. I married the devil,” he stated while fighting back tears.
His mother, Mrs Glory Inyang, denied beating her daughter-in-law.
She said her son had endured more than his fair share of marital torment, alleging that his estranged wife forced him several times to leave the house to stay with relatives.
Mrs Inyang said, “How would I beat my son’s wife, someone who just put to bed with CS for that matter, when I’m not mad? When I was with them to take care of their twin babies, I did everything to please her, but nobody can please her, no matter how hard they try.
“She drove me away from their house with her attitude. I have never met this kind of wicked woman in my entire life. Since this lady came into our family, she has been showing everybody wickedness, and we have always tried to show her love. She once told me bluntly that she’s a ‘mad’ person; that was when I knew that my son was in trouble. It is a pity that my son fell victim to a bad marriage.”
Omolara’s father blames wife
Omolara’s father, Olusola Akinbiyi, in an interview with our correspondent, blamed the crisis on his wife.
He alleged that his daughter and her mother petitioned his former workplace and demanded his sacking, adding that he quickly resigned to avoid being disgraced.
“It is unfortunate that Ezekiel has to go through all this in the hands of my daughter and her mother. Omolara has become evil; I never brought her up that way.
“She sent several messages to me, cursing me. She blamed me for her failed marriage. Ezekiel is a nice and decent man; he is just unfortunate to have married my daughter,” Akinbiyi said.
Also, in a series of messages sent to Ezekiel by Akinbiyi, a screenshot of which was shared with Saturday PUNCH, the man accused Omolara’s mother of misleading her.
He also confirmed his daughter’s wayward past.
One of the messages read, “The voice note you sent to me about your wife is real and authentic; all is the truth, but I never brought her up that way. She has really exhibited a lot of misbehaviour that corelate with all you have complained about.
“She came to my office to report me that I’m the one that didn’t allow her to have settled home, that I altered my certificate, and the funniest part of this story is that, she did all this along with her mother.
“I’m no longer at LASTMA because of this. I can’t beg you to take back a woman that can take your life; the truth has completely (been) exposed; she has turned to a monster just like her mother.
“| thank God for your life and the ability you had to push her out on time. I was advised to do the same when her mother was with me, but I refused to listen to the voices.
“I can’t say all the atrocities she has perpetrated since she came back to Nigeria. She and her mum have now joined forces to fight me. So, I’m completely removing myself from anything that has to do with Omolara.”
Saturday PUNCH gathered that Akinbiyi and Omolara’s mother are separated.
His daughter had in a podcast accused him of being violent in a podcast, adding that during her traditional marriage, he had a cutlass beside him and stopped her mother from attending the ceremony.
She is a liar – Nurse
In an interview with Saturday PUNCH, a nurse at a Lagos-based hospital where Omolara received treatment during and after her pregnancy, described her as “a pathological liar and a blackmailer.”
The nurse also said the claim by Omolara that she was diagnosed with lumbar spondylosis was false and an attempt to sway public sympathy.
“She was brought to our hospital during her pregnancy. At that time, she was complaining of abdominal pains, but she did not give birth in our hospital.
“She was brought back after giving birth, and she complained that she started having pain all over her body after giving birth. She never had lumbar spondylosis or whatever she called it, because if she did, she would not walk again.
“She has been going around, telling all sorts of lies and making money on social media. At a point, I threatened to expose her, but she called me and started begging me not to. I told her that I would expose her unless she cleared her bills at our hospital. That woman is a blackmailer,” the nurse said.
Former neighbours, landlord speak about couple
Saturday PUNCH spoke to former neighbours of the couple on Palm View Estate, Arepo.
Two of their neighbours, Ebenezer Oloju and Kehinde Sunmonu, expressed shock at the dispute between the couple, adding that they lived together in peace.
Oloju described them as “quiet and unproblematic.”
“We lived in the same compound for a year. Ezekiel was always calm and respectful. I never heard any loud argument or noticed signs of fighting between them. They seemed like a peaceful Christian family,” he said.
He added that Omolara often spoke positively about her husband, and no signs of domestic unrest were noticed.
“I was shocked when I heard about their marital issues. Maybe all along, they were trying to pretend in their own space so that people would not know they were having issues,” he added.
However, a former landlord of the couple, who spoke on condition of anonymity, slammed Ezekiel for his nonchalance towards his wife’s welfare.
“There was a day she fainted in the compound, and I had to rush her to a hospital in Arepo. They told me they would not admit her until we pay, so I paid N50,000 on the spot for her, and she was treated. When her husband came back, he thanked me, but he never refunded the money.
“Subsequently, the wife kept complaining to me. Sometimes, she would beg me for money to buy foodstuffs. Occasionally, I would give her N20,000, N25,000, but later, I had to stop giving her money.
“Ezekiel is not a good person; he is why I’m considering not giving my house out to any tenant again. They damaged my property before leaving, and I had to spend over N3m to refurbish it,” he said.
Attempts by Saturday PUNCH to get Hamad International Hospital in Qatar to confirm Omolara’s medical condition were unsuccessful.
The hospital’s phone number did not connect, and an email sent by our correspondent was neither acknowledged nor replied to as of the time of filing this report. Punch
