A Benin-based businesswoman, Ms Christy Oshogwe, has denied an allegation of abducting four minors, who are children of her deceased younger sister.
Oshogwe said the Founder/Senior Pastor of Evidence of Christ Redemption Mission church in Benin City, Pastor Emmanuel Obeneti Agbujufie, who was her late sister’s husband levelled the allegation against her, even as she alleged threat to her life.
Addressing journalists in Benin, Oshogwe disclosed that her houses in Benin and Lagos were recently invaded by soldiers and policemen and pleaded with the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba, to come to her aid.
She explained that after the death of her sister, her family members at Agenebode,, Etsako East Local Government Area of Edo State, decided that she should take good care of her four children, aged 7, 6, 4 and 2 years.
She, however, expressed surprise that the husband of her late younger sister could accuse her of abducting the children.
“I am the elder sister to the late Mrs Aboshogwe Oshogwe, who died on April 30, 2018. Until her death, she was married to Mr Emmanuel Obeneti Agbujufie, and they had four children: Goodluck, 7; Jesse, 6; Daniel, 4 (all males); and Emmanuella, 2 (female). The Oshogwe’s family is a closely-knitted one, and we love one another tremendously. My other siblings include Paul and Leonard.
“We witnessed the marriage of our late sister to the husband, in spite of our fears that he might have only sought her hand in marriage, just because of the pedigree of the family. This is because they met as schoolmates, and at the time of the marriage proposal, he had no visible means of income. Although he promised to get a job in his Bayelsa State of origin, he did not do so.
“Rather, soon after the marriage, he stayed put in Benin City and claimed that he had a calling to be a pastor and that he would administer a church. Since we could not do anything about it, we resolved to support our sister and the four children, and her husband financially. So that they would not suffer, especially in key areas such as house rent and school fees of the children, which went on for over seven years.
“Things turned bad when we discovered that our sister was terribly sick and the husband did nothing to give her the needed medical care. Rather, he locked her up in their house, off Universal Road, Benin City, and claimed that he was praying for a miracle of healing for her. By the time we became aware of her ailment and its nature, it was almost too late, as she was diagnosed with cancer of the breast. We spent over N5 million, without a kobo from her husband. Constant maltreatment by her husband led to shock, cardiac arrest and she died on April 30, 2018, with the husband refusing to attend his wife’s burial at Agenebode,” Oshogwe added.
She further stated that surprisingly on January 7, 2022, while she was in Lagos with the children, Agbujufie led policemen from Benin to arrest her and the children, and forcibly brought them back to Benin.
But in his reaction, Pastor Agbujufie said Ms Oshogwe lied against him and unlawfully took custody of his children, insisting that he has the ability and capacity to take care of his biological children.
“I was there for my late wife. Her overseas‐based sister assisting my late wife is not a crime on my part. There is no one in this world that does not need assistance. My late wife did not just die because of her sickness, but because they were jealous of her success in marrying a responsible man, as they troubled her with lies.
“As soon as my wife died, her family members started threatening me. I had to go and report to the police. Before I could get to the hospital, they had made away with my late wife’s body and my four children. Only for them to call me and they gave me two days notice for her burial.
“Even at that, I went to Agenebode with my family and church members. Only for us to discover that they had already buried my wife, and they started attacking us. The police could not rescue us. It took the intervention of soldiers to save us from their attacks. They claimed that they had money. So, they tried to intimate me with their money”, Agbujufie added.
He denied threatening the life of her sister-in-law and being a gold digger but explained that he needed to take back his children.
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