Ekiti Govt Drags Chef Dammy’s Pastor To Court, Demands N10 Million Damages

Pastor Jeremiah Adegoke, the clergyman who sponsored the cook-a-thon of Ekiti State chef, Damilola Adeparusi, popularly known as Chef Dammy, has been dragged to court.

The Directorate of Citizens Rights (DCR) from the Ministry of Justice in Ekiti State initiated legal proceedings on behalf of Chef Dammy, against Pastor Jeremiah Adegoke and the Ekiti State Police Command.

The lawsuit alleges a violation of the chef’s rights, and the DCR is seeking compensation of N10 million for damages incurred by the student chef.

The DCR has additionally requested the court to enforce a restraining order preventing Adegoke and the police from re-arresting Chef Dammy.

This legal action comes within a week of Chef Dammy’s reported arrest, allegedly at the behest of Pastor Adegoke, who serves as her pastor.

Adegoke is the head pastor of Spirit Word Global Mission, an Ekiti-based church that purportedly sponsored Chef Dammy’s record-setting cook-a-thon.

The dispute between Chef Dammy and her pastor surfaced in October, with the chef raising concerns about relentless threats and intimidation from individuals she referred to as “people of God” and her pastor.

The 24-year-old Mass Communication student at the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), expressed living in constant fear for her life.

While the specific cause of the conflict remains unclear, it seems to stem from the fallout of the cook-a-thon.

In response to Chef Dammy’s public outcry, Adegoke, through his lawyers, Bisayo Sule & Co legal practitioners, issued a letter on October 23, 2023, demanding a retraction of the alleged defamatory statement on social media, a public apology in two widely read national dailies, and payment of N22 million for damages.

Chef Dammy was given seven days to comply with these demands, or face legal action.

The lawsuit filed by DCR on November 24 lists Chef Dammy as the applicant, with Adegoke, Ajewole Samuel (Ekiti State Commissioner of Police), and the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 17 Akure, as respondents.

The legal action seeks a declaration that the ongoing harassment, molestation, threat of arrest, and intimidation by the pastor and the Nigerian police infringe on the fundamental human rights of the applicant.

KanyiDaily recalls that Chef Dammy gained prominence after undertaking a cook-a-thon challenge in June to break the Guinness World Record.