Mercy Johnson: Married At Last

At last, star actress Mercy Johnson has dared the odds to tie the nuptial knots with her controversial lover boy, Prince Odianosen Okojie


By Chuks OLUIGBO

Mercy and Odianose

Disregarding the series of controversies that almost marred her wedding plans, Nollywood star actress, Mercy Johnson, finally walked down the aisle with her fiancé, Prince Odianosen Okojie, on Saturday, August 27, 2011. The wedding ceremony, which was witnessed by over 2,000 persons, took place at the Christ Embassy Church headquarters, 51/53 Kudirat Abiola Way, Oregun, Ikeja, Lagos. In the absence of Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, the man who reportedly staked his reputation to ensure that the wedding took place, the church service was officiated by Pastor Ton Obiazi, assisted by another pastor in the church. Reception thereafter took place at 10 Degree on Billingsway, also at Oregun, Ikeja.

Miss Johnson, who was driven into the church compound in a white limousine, wore a cream coloured wedding gown, while the groom also dressed in a cream coloured suit.

As expected, the wedding ceremony was all pomp and pageantry. It witnessed a gathering of who-is-who in Nollywood as many of Mercy Johnson’s colleagues came to identify with the actress in her moment of joy. Those present included Patience Ozokwor (Mama G), Genevieve Nnaji, Mike Ezuruoye, Stephanie Okereke, Segun Arinze, and KC Presh, among others. Ghanaian actress, Yvonne Nelson, was the maid of honour; Chika Ike, Empress Njamah, Pop singer Goldie, Waje, and Queen Nwokoye were the bridesmaids; while sensational comedians AY and ‘I go die o’ were the official Masters of Ceremonies.

Not surprisingly, the gate of the wedding venue was manned by about 50 policemen and private security personnel who wielded dangerous armaments including electric baton and turned away uninvited guests to forestall any form of trouble at the event. Photojournalists from different media houses were also barred from entering the church auditorium and many had their camera seized by the security. Others were compelled to delete from their cameras photographs of the couple already taken. Lights in the church auditorium were also dimmed to prevent media men and other guests from taking photographs of the couple. It was alleged that the security measures had to be put in place because a women’s rights group had threatened to storm the venue of the wedding with chants of protests in sympathy with Lovely, Okojie’s supposed lawful wife.




Mercy making up

It would be recalled that as the preparations for the wedding were on top gear, a certain Lovely Okojie, a Nigerian lady based in Canada, had come out of the blues, claiming that she was the legal wife of Prince Odianosen Okojie, “the man Mercy Johnson is set to wed in a few weeks”. The mail she circulated to that effect read: “I used to have a sweet home but now Mercy Johnson is trying to destroy it. I’ve not been able to stop crying or sleep well for the past few months. I’m appealing to the world and whoever knows her to please tell her to leave my husband alone. I’m married to this man and there has never been any divorce paper signed. We are still legally married; he’s the love of my life and the father of my two lovely kids. We got married back in 2006 in Modena, Italy. Attached are pictures of the wedding. At the moment, he’s busy in Nigeria planning to wed Mercy Johnson, abandoning me and our children. Fellow women, is this fair? So with all the single guys out there, Mercy could not find herself one. How can a woman not care that she’s destroying the home of another woman, all in the name of getting married desperately? I’m in terrible pains. What do I tell my children?”

Lovely Okojie also claimed that when she initially confronted her husband about Mercy, he denied any affair and said they were just business partners. She further said that her embattled husband had been trying by all means to divorce her, and even posted online pictures of divorce petitions and court summons sent to her father in Benin, Edo State.

Many of Mercy Johnson’s fans were shocked to receive the news that her fiancé was formerly married. From then on, rumours began making the rounds that Miss Johnson may be calling off the wedding. Reports expressly stated that she had confided in close friends that she was considering calling off the wedding, saying that the story and pictures leaked by Lovely had opened her eyes and established that her husband-to-be lied to her about the nature and status of his relationship with Lovely and her two kids. That was after Mercy had bought all that needed to be bought, gone through marriage counseling in church, concluded on venues, catering and performances, and sent out invitations and the usual ‘aso ebi’.

At that point too, following the unfolding controversies, reports came that the Christ Embassy Church authorities had objected to holding the proposed wedding ceremony in the church pending when Prince Okojie produced proofs invalidating his first marriage with Lovely. Also, a member of the church was quoted as saying that “it is only a committed member of the church that can marry here. I haven’t seen Johnson worship here. I strongly doubt if the church will allow her wed here, especially with all the brouhaha surrounding the wedding,”

Some analysts also assessed the legal implications should she go ahead with the wedding. “If it is true that Mercy’s groom-to-be, Odi, is still legally married to another woman, whatever documents he signs with Mercy Johnson would be null and void, and he would be charged with bigamy, an offence punishable by law (usually a jail term of up to seven years with an option of fine) under the Nigerian Criminal Code,” a legal expert said.



The traditional wedding

Some, however, said that Mercy Johnson would not be the first Nollywood actress to be enmeshed in this kind of controversy. According to them, in 2005, actress Shan George was accused of marrying a certain Tony Nwosisi who was apparently married to another woman named Success. Also, in 2008, a United States-based Nigerian lady named Ruth Okoro disclosed publicly that popular actress, Ini Edo, was the reason her husband, Philip Ehiagwina, dumped her in the US just to marry Ini.

But while these rumours raged, Mercy Johnson’s publicist, Samuel Olatunji of BigSam Media, announced via his twitter account, @BigSammedia, the actress’ decision to go ahead with the wedding. The announcement read: “Some have called it trial of love while others call it triumph of love. But for Mercy Johnson, it is simply a leap of faith. The actress has decided to go ahead with the wedding. MJ will be walking down the aisle come Saturday, August 27. She came to this conclusion after spiritual and legal consultation. She urges her fans and friends to pray along with her and appreciates those who stood by her. The wedding is strictly by invitation.”

All that is now history. The Christ Embassy Church went ahead to join Mercy Johnson and Prince Okojie, contrary to expectations, and in spite of the confusion over Okojie’s marital status. Cleverly too, the officiating pastor avoided asking the congregation the conventional ‘does anyone here have any genuine reason why this couple should not be joined together in marriage?’, an action which came as a surprise to many who queried the morality of it all.

As it is, whatever anybody thinks about it now has become a personal opinion as Mercy Johnson has tied the nuptial knots with her Prince Charming and the newly married lovebirds are expected to settle at Prince Okojie’s Oluwadamilola Fashade Street, Omole Phase 1, Lagos residence.

Born in Satellite Town, Lagos, Nigeria, Mercy, who hails from Okene, Kogi State, attended the Nigerian Navy Primary School, Ikot Ansa, Cross Rivers State, the Nigerian Navy Primary School, Satellite Town, Lagos, the Nigerian Navy Secondary School, Port Harcourt, and Lagos State University, LASU. Her first movie role in Nollywood was in “Moving Train” (2000), but it was her maiden lead role in “The Maid”, released in 2002, that launched her into fame. Her other movies include “Last Contact”, “Last Kiss”, “My Heart Your Home”, “Oh! Woman”, “Secret Game”, “Kill the Bride”, “Women in Power”, “House Party”, “In the Name of Money”, “Into Temptation”, and numerous others.