Celestial leadership crisis: Court fixes April 7 for hearing

A Federal High Court, Lagos, yesterday, fixed April 7 and 8, 2020 for hearing in the suit against the Reverend Emmanuel Mobiyina Oshoffa led-committee over the lingering crisis in the Celestial Church of Christ. Justice Ayokunle Faji, who presided over the court, fixed the dates upon an agreement reached by lawyers representing parties in the […]

A Federal High Court, Lagos, yesterday, fixed April 7 and 8, 2020 for hearing in the suit against the Reverend Emmanuel Mobiyina Oshoffa led-committee over the lingering crisis in the Celestial Church of Christ.

Justice Ayokunle Faji, who presided over the court, fixed the dates upon an agreement reached by lawyers representing parties in the suit filed by Reverend Josiah Kayode Owodunni against Reverend Oshoffa and five others.

Other respondents in the suit are Samson Olatunde Banjo, Pius Olanrewaju, John Omotosho, Professor Bola Akinterinwa and Kayode Okaisabor.

Also joined as the seventh respondent in the suit is the church’s Registered Trustees, Nigeria Diocese.

At the hearing of the suit yesterday, the plaintiff, Reverend Owodunni was represented by his lawyer, Martins Nnebedum, while Reverend Oshoffa, Banjo, Olanrewaju, Omotosho, Okaisabor and the Church trustees were represented by Modupe Odugunwa, Opara David and Akinwole Okenile.

Reverend Owodunni, in his statement of claims, is asking the court to restrain Reverend Oshoffa from parading himself as the Pastor of the church worldwide.

The plaintiff is also asking the court for an order setting aside the purported appointment of Olanrewaju, Omotosho, Akinterinwa and Okaisabor as members of the church’s Board of Trustees, as well as set aside all official act(s) already undertaken and performed by them or anyone of them in the name of member(s) of the church’s Board of Trustees from December 24, 2015 onward.

The plaintiff is also asking the court for an order to set aside the purported appointment of the third and fight defendants as Treasurer and Secretary of the church’s Board of Trustees.

Reverend Owodunni is also asking the court for an order of perpetual injunction restraining all the defendants, either by themselves, privies servants and any other persons whoever connected or related, from operating the two bank accounts belonging to the church’s account numbers 0009148230 and 0811030001106, being the CCC International Headquarters Harvest and Pastoral accounts respectively.

However, the respondents, in their notice of preliminary objections, urged the court to dismiss Reverend Owodunni’s suit “for being an abuse of court processes” and that the court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain it.

The respondents stated that Owodunni’s case “is an abuse of judicial process, being the same subject with suit number HCL/7/2006 between the Registered Trustees of the Celestial Church of Christ (Nigeria Diocese) v. Mr Godwin Bolanle Shonekan decided at the Ogun State High Court on March 26, 2015 and which is presently on appeal at the Court of Appeal, lbadan Division, as Appeal No. CA/lB/227/2016.”

The respondents are, therefore, urging the court to make an order dismissing and/or striking out the petitioner’s suit in its entirety.

In the alternative, they prayed for an order adjourning the suit sine die pending the final determination of the appeal suit between the Registered Trustees of Celestial Church of Christ (Nigeria Diocese) v. Mr Godwin Bolanle Shonekan pending at the Court of Appeal, Ibadan Division, Oyo State.