By Onoja Baba, Nigeria
The General Overseer of Omega Power Ministries (OPM), Apostle Chibuzor Gift Chinyere, has been cautioned against the trend of putting out his autistic adopted children for marriage.
The legal caution follows the announcement made by the pastor on Tuesday that he is seeking a suitable husband for his 21-year-old autistic adopted daughter, Chiemeka Chibuzor.
In the announcement, Apostle Chibuzor described Chiemeka as capable of speaking and hearing clearly, while offering substantial lifetime incentives to any prospective young, non-disabled suitor, including a regular salary, a house built in both names, free accommodation, and regular supervision by OPM staff to ensure she is not maltreated.
The move comes barely two weeks after he facilitated the marriage of another autistic young man under his care, popularly known as Aboy Chibuzor.
Aboy, who is non-verbal and requires assistance with daily activities such as bathing and dressing, tied the knot on March 29, 2026, with an Edo State-born woman. The wedding drew widespread attention and mixed reactions, with the cleric providing significant support including a ₦10 million gift, a free house, overseas vacation, and other welfare packages.
A Nigerian lawyer, Awele Chukwuka Umemma (known on Facebook as Awele Ideal), has issued a strong caution to Apostle Chibuzor, warning of the serious legal and ethical implications of arranging marriages for autistic individuals, particularly when it involves incentives or perceived pressure.
In an open letter addressed to the OPM founder, the lawyer stated, “Recently, you have been addicted to marrying off Autistic persons whom you claimed to be your ‘Children’. So, I am by this post informing you as well as educating my esteemed followers of the legal implications of your actions.”
She emphasised that while autism exists on a spectrum and many autistic adults are fully capable of consenting to marriage, Nigerian law requires that both parties must have the mental capacity to understand the nature, duties, and responsibilities of the marital contract. Where an individual lacks this capacity due to severe impairment, the marriage could be declared void or voidable.
The lawyer further explained that any arrangement involving force, pressure, deception, or enticement could amount to exploitation, potentially leading to charges of fraud, nullity of marriage, or even trafficking if financial incentives are involved. She referenced the Matrimonial Causes Act, which allows a marriage to be annulled if one party was of unsound mind or mentally unfit to give valid consent at the time of the union.
“Marrying off an autistic person is a complex legal and ethical matter that depends entirely on whether the individual has the legal capacity to consent,” Awele Chukwuka Umemma noted.
“While many autistic adults can and do enter into valid, loving marriages, ‘marrying off’ an individual particularly if it involves coercion, severe impairment or non-verbal status carries significant legal risks like exploitation, fraud, and nullity,” she added.
She advised the cleric to focus on providing professional caregivers for the autistic individuals under his care rather than arranging life partners, describing the practice as using them as “caricature of human dignity.”
The lawyer’s intervention has added to the ongoing public discourse surrounding Apostle Chibuzor’s approach to supporting vulnerable members of his ministry.
Supporters argue that his actions stem from genuine paternal care and a desire to secure the future of the many abandoned and special-needs children he has taken in, while critics question issues of consent, dignit
y, and potential exploitation.
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