Nigeria Police Force has released Nollywood actress Doris Ogala in Lagos after rearresting her in Abuja shortly following her bail, SaharaReporters has learned.
Ogala was brought to Lagos by a police team from the Zone 2 Command.
The incident reportedly escalated when Ogala’s lawyer, Marshal Abubakar, attempted to document the police’s actions.
Sources said officers violently attacked Abubakar, seized his phones, and accompanied Ogala on a flight to Lagos.
A Take It Back Movement Coordinator, Jamiu Towolawi, aka Jharmo, secured te actress’ release by getting her bailed.
Following her release, Pastor Chris Okafor of the Mountain of Liberation and Miracle Ministries (also known as Grace Nation Liberation City) met with the actress and urged her to allow peace to prevail. SaharaReporters learned that Okafor appealed for reconciliation and pleaded for an end to further hostilities.
The actress confirmed her release in a post shared on her Instagram page on Monday.
Her arrest had sparked widespread reactions on social media, with several Nigerians and online personalities calling for her release.
Celebrating her freedom, Ogala thanked human rights activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, as well as VeryDarkMan, for their intervention.
In the short post, she wrote, “Thank you, Sowore. Thanks so much to my ratel king.”
“Today, a Take It Back leader, Jamiu Towolawi, aka Jharmo, arrived at the Zone 2 command to demand Ogala’s immediate release,” a source privy to the information told SaharaReporters.
“Dramatically, Pastor Chris Okafor who was at the centre of her arrest and controversy arrived at Onikan and pleaded with her to allow peace to reign. It was obvious her arrest was instigated to bully her and upon seeing she is refusing to back down, the pastor fell flat on his knees and begged.
“The pastor spent close to an hour in a closed-door meeting with Ms. Ogala in private. They met in a secluded space devoid of third parties. After their peace meeting, the police released her to go on ‘health grounds’, with Jharmo serving as surety.”
“The police also released the two phones seized from lawyer Marshal Abubakar after the actress was released in Lagos, asking that the arrest video should be deleted as they couldn’t access the phones. But the TIB coordinator rejected the condition. And the police later let Ogala leave,” the source added.
Background
On Sunday, SaharaReporters reported that what began as a legal showdown over an alleged promise to marry took a dramatic turn on Saturday as Ogala was arrested while speaking during a live-streamed interview.
The unexpected development played out in real time when the programme host suddenly interrupted the conversation to ask, “The police are in your house?”
Ogala replied, “Yes, the police are in my house.”
The arrest came amid a flurry of allegations made by the actress against Pastor Okafor, whom she had formally accused days earlier of breaching a promise to marry her.
On Friday, the actress shared a post that appeared to show Okafor in a private setting. The post was later deleted.
The image depicted a man, topless and wrapped in a towel at the waist, inside a bedroom. She claimed it was his bedroom, alleged he had just engaged in sex, and warned that she would soon release the full video.
Last week, Ogala, through her lawyers, Synergy Law Partners, issued a demand letter dated December 16, 2025, seeking N1 billion in aggravated damages from Pastor Okafor over what her legal team described as a broken marital commitment.
The letter, addressed to the cleric at his Ojodu Berger residence, warned of imminent legal action should he fail to comply within 21 days.
According to the lawyers, Ogala alleged that Pastor Okafor made a “clear, consistent and unequivocal” promise to marry her, a commitment they said formed the foundation of a personal relationship that began in 2017.
They further claimed the relationship commenced at a period when the actress was emotionally vulnerable and had approached the cleric for pastoral guidance.
Her counsel argued that the alleged promise went beyond words, citing conduct such as introductions to Pastor Okafor’s family and joint appearances at family functions as reinforcing assurances of marriage.
The letter stated that photographs, videos, WhatsApp messages and banking records exist to substantiate what the lawyers described as a legitimate expectation of marriage.
Ogala also alleged that she acted to her detriment in reliance on the promise, taking what her lawyers characterised as “irreversible steps” based on assurances of marital commitment.
Among these actions, the letter claimed she exited a troubled marriage and abandoned any prospect of reconciliation because of the security she believed the promised union offered.
The actress further alleged that she entrusted Pastor Okafor with N45 million in a single transaction and granted him access to her financial affairs on the strength of the relationship and the promise of marriage.
While acknowledging that marriage cannot be compelled, her lawyers argued that the law provides remedies for breach of promise and aggravated harm.
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