Olakunle Churchill, ex-husband of Nollywood actress, Tonto Dikeh, has sued her for N500 million over her May 2019 interview about their failed marriage.
The 34-year-old actress, in a three-part video posted on YouTube, alleged that Churchill, 37, was an internet fraudster, popularly called Yahoo Yahoo, claiming she found out about it when she walked in on him clad in a red cloth, carrying a laptop and surrounded by red candles.
Tonto further claimed that contrary to popular belief, Churchill was not related to former president Olusegun Obasanjo and that his father was the ex-president’s gardener.
Following the claims, Churchill filed a case against the actress at a High Court in the Federal Capital Territory.
Churchill and the Big Church Foundation are listed as claimants in the case, in which they claim that Tonto’s statements were defamatory and intended to damage the image and political ambitions of Churchill.
“The series of malicious and fallacious, assertions and accusations through media campaigns and publications by Tonto Dikeh and her charity group was defamatory,” they claim.
Churchill also accused his ex-wife of forgery and for illegally selling his Toyota Prado SUV worth N22 million.
Shortly after the case was filed in December 2019, a bailiff was dispatched to serve her the papers but was unsuccessful as she was out of the country.
Churchill had previously filed a suit against Tonto at the family court of the Lagos State Magistrate Court, challenging her decision to feature their son, Andre, in her reality TV show.
The entrepreneur alleged that the show, King Tonto, which was based on the actress’s private life, was an excuse to financially exploit the boy’s image.
As a result of the lawsuit, the show could not be aired.
Tonto and Churchill married in a lavish traditional wedding in February 2015 but divorced in June 2017.
