Apostle Johnson Suleman, Senior Pastor and General Overseer of Omega Fire Ministries International, has addressed Nollywood actress Halima Abubakar’s recent public apology for her previous defamatory statements.
The cleric took to his X page on Wednesday to clarify his stance, saying: “You all stop calling my phone. Forgiveness is not memory loss! Status quo maintained!”
This response follows Abubakar’s admission of guilt, where she acknowledged her past remarks as “false and hurtful.” In her Instagram statement, she expressed deep remorse for the pain her allegations caused Suleman and his family, attributing her actions to poor judgment and reflecting on her conscience.
This apology follows a ruling by a Federal Capital Territory High Court in April 2024, which ordered the actress to pay N10 million in damages for defamation.
Abubakar in her apology statement admitted to making baseless allegations against Apostle Suleman and expressed deep regret for the distress caused to him, his wife, Dr. Lizzy Suleman, and the entire ministry.
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“I acknowledge the falsehoods I made against you on social media and offer my sincerest apologies,” Abubakar wrote. “I deeply regret my actions and the pain and distress I caused to you, your family, and the Leaders of the Omega Fire Ministry.”
Abubakar’s comments had sparked a major controversy when she claimed to have had a romantic relationship with Suleman in 2022, leading the cleric to threaten legal action over what he deemed defamatory statements. The situation escalated in 2023 when she alleged she had been pregnant three times with Suleman’s child.
In April, a Federal Capital Territory High Court ordered Abubakar to pay N10 million in damages for her derogatory remarks and prohibited her from making further defamatory statements against Suleman. The court also mandated that she publish a retraction of her claims on her Instagram account.
Apostle Suleman, in his complaint, stated that the accusations were widely shared by blogs and media outlets, causing significant harm to his reputation.
He also noted that these false allegations affected his family and ministry.
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