A wedding scheduled to take place in Jos on Saturday, April 5, 2025, between Yakubu Abok and Patience Addra, never happened over a disagreement that arose during last-minute counselling of the couple at the groom’s church on the eve of the ceremony.
The couple’s last-minute counselling reportedly took place on Friday at the groom’s church, Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN), in Jos, Plateau State.
Preparations for the wedding the next day were already at top gear. Groom’s men were already lodged in a hotel by Grand Cereals for easy access to the Groom’s house and church in the Anguldi, Zawan area of Jos.
The bridesmaids were also reportedly housed at the COCIN pastorium, all eagerly waiting for the wedding the next day.
Initial news was that the bride called off the wedding over the groom’s insistence that the couple must attend his church after the wedding.
This news has circulated widely on social media, with some suggesting that the bride claimed she could not marry a member of the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN).
Many netizens poured opprobrium on the bride for allowing the man to spend so much money only to abscond from the wedding at the last minute.
However, the lady at the centre of the fiasco, Patience Addra, has taken to social media to caution the public against believing the widely circulated narrative.
She wrote in a terse Facebook post on Saturday, the day the wedding was expected to take place: “Online family (in-laws) Well-done.
If you follow social media saga You go kpai (die) before your time.”
Her friends responded to her post by commiserating with her on the cancellation of the wedding and advising her to take a break from social media.
A Jos based writer, Paul Kums, has however shared more information about the real cause of the cancellation.
According to him, the bride is a devout Catholic, while the groom was born and raised in COCIN.
The couple who had dated for three years initially had the understanding that the bride would attend her church after the wedding.
However, trouble started during the final counselling session with the reverend when he asked about their plans for their future church attendance.
The bride voiced out their earlier understanding that she would continue to attend her own church.
The groom however sang a different tune, telling the reverend that they would both attend COCIN.
When the bride queried her man about the sudden change in their plans, he reportedly replied that his mother said it was wrong for his wife to attend a different church from his own.
The bride was said to have been disappointed that this was not brought up with her by her man until that very moment.
“If your mother is going to decide everything for you, then maybe we should call off the wedding,” the bride was said to have blurted out.
The confused reverend reportedly ended the meeting on that discordant note, apparently believing they would go home and realign their choices.
The groom reportedly went home to give his mother the feedback that his bride-to-be threatened to call off the wedding if he insisted on changing their earlier understanding.
The mother-in-law reportedly responded with: “If that’s how she feels, then the wedding is off!”
When the groom called his woman back, she was expecting the discussion to continue from where they left off, but he told her matter-of-factly that his mother agreed that the wedding could be called off if she would not budge.
The bride was said to have been shattered by the turn of events and reportedly had a change of heart immediately and told her would-be groom she would make a compromise and attend his church after the wedding.
Kums quoting a source close to the bride’s family said the lady was terrified that if her mother who had fragile health was told the wedding had been called off, she might be sent to the world beyond.
Desperate to save the situation, the bride reportedly apologized to the groom and begged him to reconsider his stance.
The appeals fell on deaf ears. “The groom’s mother’s influence had already sealed their fate,” the source said.
It was a disappointing end to what promised to be a wedding to remember in Jos. Elaborate arrangements had been made concerning the wedding.
Roughly a week earlier, precisely, Sunday, March 30, 2025, a colourful send-forth party was held for the couple at Tundun Kauri Secondary School, behind NBS, in Jos.
Guests were feted and treated to music and games.
Friends of the couple shared beautiful testimonies about them and wished them a married happy life.
Unfortunately, this was not to be.
