EXCLUSIVE: Ayo Oritsejafor Controls Up to 75% of London Church Company as Earlier UK Entity Dissolved Without Filing Accounts

TrackNews Online Investigative Desk

Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, former president of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and founder of Word of Life Bible Church in Warri, Delta State, is listed as the majority controller of a London-registered church company, while an earlier UK company bearing the same name was dissolved without filing accounts, according to Companies House records examined for this report.

The records also reveal discrepancies in the birth years recorded for the cleric across the two UK company filings, raising questions about the consistency of the information contained in the official register.

The active company, Word of Life Bible Church London Ltd, was incorporated on December 17, 2024, under company number 16139909.

According to its persons with significant control register, Oritsejafor was notified as a person with significant control on February 5, 2025. His declared level of control is recorded as ownership of shares of more than 50 per cent but less than 75 per cent.

The entry identifies him as a Nigerian national residing in Nigeria, with his correspondence address listed as 10 Ayo Oritsejafor Street, GRA, Warri, Delta State.

The company is registered as a private company limited by guarantee and classified under SIC code 94910, covering activities of religious organisations. Its registered office is at 35 Roxley Road, London SE13 6HG.

Despite its classification as a company limited by guarantee, the control register uses wording relating to share ownership to describe Oritsejafor’s interest. This is a point requiring clarification because companies limited by guarantee ordinarily do not have share capital.

DIRECTORS AND CONTROL RECORDS

Companies House records identify Uruemuesiri Takure, born in April 1974, and Tony Emmanuel Mene-Akpata, born in July 1967, as directors appointed on the company’s incorporation date.

William Omavuayere Didimako, born in June 1966, was also appointed a director and secretary on December 17, 2024. He resigned as a director on January 27, 2026.

Takure was initially entered on the persons with significant control register on December 17, 2024, but the entry shows that his status ceased on the same day.

That left Oritsejafor as the sole active person with significant control recorded in the register examined for this report.

The company had not filed accounts in the records reviewed. Its first accounts were due on September 17, 2026.

The absence of filed accounts means the available documents do not establish the company’s financial position, revenue, expenditure, assets or liabilities.

It also means the records examined do not provide sufficient evidence to determine the scale of the church company’s operations in the United Kingdom.

EARLIER UK CHURCH COMPANY DISSOLVED WITHOUT ACCOUNTS

The current company is not the first UK-registered entity to operate under the name Word of Life Bible Church.

An earlier company, Word Of Life Bible Church (United Kingdom), was incorporated on April 2, 2014, under company number 08973603.

Its registered office was listed at 1 Haydock Close, Milton Keynes MK3 5LL, with a correspondence address at Unit 21a, Lloyds Court, North Tenth Street, Milton Keynes MK9 3EL.

Companies House records show that the earlier company was subsequently dissolved. According to the records examined, it did not file accounts during its lifetime.

Its directors included Pastor Ayo Joseph Oritsejafor, appointed on April 10, 2014; his wife, Pastor Helen Oritsejafor, born in April 1966 and appointed on the same date; and Faith Aghogho Edjejovwo, born in April 1970.

The dissolution of the earlier company and the incorporation of a new entity in December 2024 establish a succession in the use of the church’s name on the UK company register.

However, the available records do not establish whether the two companies had the same assets, liabilities, bank accounts, membership, operational structure or financial arrangements.

Nor do they establish why the earlier company was dissolved or why the new entity was incorporated.

Those questions would require further documentary evidence or clarification from the church.

THREE DIFFERENT BIRTH YEARS APPEAR IN THE RECORDS

Another issue emerging from the documents is the variation in Oritsejafor’s recorded birth year.

The officer record associated with the earlier UK company lists his birth month and year as November 1953.

By contrast, the persons with significant control record for the newer company lists November 1950.

Public biographical accounts have also associated the cleric’s birth with November 10, 1949, and November 10, 1950.

These records therefore contain different birth years for the same named individual.

The discrepancy does not, by itself, establish wrongdoing or prove that any filing is false. However, it raises a legitimate question about which date is accurate and whether the differences resulted from administrative errors, inconsistent information supplied at different times or another explanation.

The records reviewed did not show a correction resolving the discrepancy.

TrackNews Online has not independently established the reason for the conflicting dates.

NO DOCUMENTED EVIDENCE OF LONDON PROPERTY OWNERSHIP

The company filings reviewed do not establish that Oritsejafor or either of the two church companies owns a residential property in London.

Neither company’s available accounts provide evidence of property ownership, and the records examined did not identify a Land Registry title or Register of Overseas Entities entry linking Oritsejafor personally, or either company, to a London house.

The addresses appearing in the filings are registered-office or correspondence addresses. Their inclusion in company records should not be interpreted as proof that the cleric owns or resides at those properties.

The documented UK corporate footprint established by the records examined is therefore the earlier dissolved company and the newer active company, with Oritsejafor listed as the latter’s majority controller.

The absence of evidence in the records reviewed is not proof that no property or other assets exist. Establishing the full extent of any UK assets would require additional searches and documentary verification.

THE 2014 PRIVATE JET AND $9.3 MILLION CASH CONTROVERSY

Oritsejafor’s name also became prominent in 2014 following the seizure of a private aircraft in South Africa.

On September 5, 2014, South African authorities seized a Bombardier Challenger 600 aircraft registered as N808HG at Lanseria International Airport in Johannesburg. The aircraft reportedly had $9.3 million in undeclared cash aboard, packed in three suitcases.

Records relating to the aircraft identified Eagle Air Company as its owner. The jet had reportedly been leased to Green Coast Produce Limited from August 2, 2014, before being hired to John Ishyaku.

The controversy attracted attention because Oritsejafor’s church acknowledged that the pastor held a residual interest in the aircraft. The church denied that he was involved in moving the cash.

Oritsejafor was not charged in connection with the incident in South Africa or Nigeria, according to the information available for this report.

The money was subsequently returned to the Nigerian government in July 2015.

The 2014 aircraft controversy is a matter of historical public record, but it does not establish any connection between the cash incident and either of the UK church companies.

No evidence presented in the company records examined links the London entities to the aircraft or the money seized in South Africa.

QUESTIONS REMAIN FOR THE CHURCH

The Companies House documents raise several questions that warrant clarification from Word of Life Bible Church and Oritsejafor.

These include why the earlier UK company was dissolved without filing accounts, what prompted the incorporation of the new London entity in December 2024, and whether the new company has commenced substantial operations.

Clarification is also needed on the use of share-ownership wording in the control register of a company described as limited by guarantee, as well as the different birth years recorded for Oritsejafor.

The absence of filed accounts for the new company means that its financial position cannot yet be assessed from the documents examined.

These are questions arising from corporate filings, rather than proof of financial misconduct.

TrackNews Online has not established evidence of fraud, tax evasion or other criminal wrongdoing by Oritsejafor in connection with either UK company. The records provide grounds for seeking clarification, but any conclusion about misconduct would require further evidence.

The cleric and the church should have an opportunity to explain the discrepancies and the history of the two companies.

TrackNews Online will update this report if substantive responses or additional documentary evidence become available.

TRACKNEWS ONLINE
Investigative Desk | Following the Records, Reporting the Facts