After our marriage, at the hotel we lodged, I touched my wife, but she said we should wait- Husband

 

An Abuja-based church, Holiness Revival Movement Worldwide, has reportedly expelled a newly married woman, Oyiza, following a dispute in her marriage.

According to The Punch, Oyiza and her husband, Isaac, were wed in September 2025 after completing traditional rites in Kogi State and a court ceremony in Ibadan. Soon after the wedding, tensions arose when she allegedly declined intimacy, claiming she did not love her husband and had been pressured into the marriage.

After months of failed mediation involving both families and church leaders, the church’s international director, Pastor Paul Rika, announced her removal from the congregation in a video message, describing the action as a disciplinary measure.

Isaac stated that when he first made his intentions known, Oyiza agreed to marry him, prompting the church’s marriage committee to approve plans for the wedding.

However, he explained that several months before the ceremony, she began voicing reservations and said her feelings had changed, indicating she was no longer certain about going ahead with the union.

Believing the issue might have a spiritual dimension, Isaac said they sought prayers and counselling. According to him, the church’s marriage committee also advised her to pray and reflect further. He added that she later returned, expressing renewed conviction, which led to the continuation of the wedding plans.

He noted that the marriage was eventually concluded after both the traditional rites and court ceremony were completed.

Photos shared on Facebook from the wedding showed Oyiza appearing cheerful alongside friends and church members.

Despite this, Isaac claimed that difficulties in the relationship surfaced almost immediately after the wedding ceremony.

Further talking, he said, “After the wedding, my wife started complaining again that she no longer had feelings for me.

“She also started misbehaving, but because of the fervent love I had for her, I accommodated her deficiencies and lapses, thinking that things will change but it did not.

“After the marriage, in the hotel where we lodged, I touched her, but she said we should wait for a brief period of time.

"I asked for her reasons; she did not give me any cogent reason.

"She had also said she did not like sex all the time. I was also a virgin, and wasn't involved in such things.

"I agreed we will not make love in the hotel. So, we said when we get to Ibadan."

“We accompanied her, myself and her mother, to the park.

"She started crying at the park, saying, ‘Mummy, can you see now, when I said I do not love this man, can you see it now.

"See the condition you pushed me into now’.”

Isaac said his wife’s family initially appealed to him to remain calm and avoid making the matter public. As the situation continued unresolved, he reported the issue to a church leader in Lokoja and later informed his pastor in Ibadan.

He explained that despite multiple counselling sessions, including one where his wife reportedly became emotional, she did not shift her position. According to him, she frequently repeated that there was “no love, no joy, no peace” in the marriage, a stance he said left him confused because of his strong feelings for her.

Isaac further alleged that she accused him of attempting to rape her whenever he initiated intimacy. He described the relationship as tense and confrontational, claiming there were moments when she would appear indifferent yet still resist him.

Beyond intimacy, he said daily interactions were also strained. He alleged that disagreements arose over issues such as bathing routines and household responsibilities, sometimes requiring intervention from church leaders. He also claimed that on one occasion, she called children into their room during a disagreement, and that a neighbour overheard an argument in which she reportedly insisted she did not love him and had been pressured into the marriage.

He characterised the marriage as restrictive and emotionally draining, saying he felt constantly criticised and unable to act freely in his own home despite efforts to show affection.

Oyiza was not present to respond to the allegations, and attempts to reach her for comment were unsuccessful.

Before announcing the church’s final decision, the church’s leader, Pastor Paul Rika, said his wife had received what he described as a spiritual revelation about the situation. He claimed it suggested the presence of a spiritual covenant preventing the marriage from being consummated and warned of severe consequences if it were violated.

However, mental health experts who spoke on the matter suggested that psychological or medical factors could potentially explain the circumstances.