Chief James Egubson & Ors v. Joseph Ikechiuku (1977)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report

SIR UDO UDOMA, J.S.C. 

This appeal is from the judgment of the High Court of the former Midwestern, now Bendel State, holden at Benin dated 28th February, 1974. The appeal has been instituted by the appellants, who as plaintiffs, had claimed for themselves and on behalf of all the other members of St Joseph’s Chosen Church of God against the respondent, therein defendant, the following:

“(i) a declaration that the defendant has ceased to be a member of the Saint Joseph’s Chosen Church of God;

(ii) an order for the removal of the defendant as a sole Trustee of Saint Joseph’s Chosen Church of God;

(iii) an order for the appointment of the plaintiffs as Trustees of the Church aforesaid;

(iv) an order that the defendant do render a true and correct account of all properties, moneys and other assets or benefits which he has received in his capacity as sole trustee of the Saint Joseph’s Chosen Church of God up to the date of the order of his removal or up to such other date as the court shall specify;

(v) payment over to the said Church of all sums found due upon taking such account;

(vi) delivery to the said Church of all properties and assets of the Church in the possession of the defendant.”

On the pleadings filed and delivered and the evidence in support thereof, the circumstances which have occasioned the suit resulting in the present appeal may, because of the nature of the controversy between the parties hereto, be stated somewhat at length as hereunder set forth:

In 1945 the defendant who subsequently came to be designated and known as Apostle, the Elect of God, and Founder of the Church known as Saint Joseph’s Chosen Church of God, formerly a member of the Methodist Church and a photographer, while working as a labourer at the Oil Plantation of Cowan Estate at Ajagbodugu near Sapele, received a “call” through revelation to resign his appointment and to take up the work of God of preaching the Gospel.

In obedience to that “call” and in response thereto, the defendant resigned his appointment. With his own money he bought a piece or parcel of land near Cowan Estate. In 1946, on the said piece or parcel of land he erected a church hall, quarters and a parsonage and christened the same after his own Christian name of “Joseph”. He named the establishment St Joseph Apostolic Church. Thus began the church whose landed properties now form the core of the subject matter of the suit now on appeal.

Thereafter the Church attracted many adherents. It expanded and prospered. It acquired more land at Sapele, Ugbeza, Isiuwa, Uromi, Irrua, Umuahia, Ajegunle, Maroko, Shomolu, Ibadan, Lagos, Warri and at various other parts of the country for the purposes of the church wherever the church has been established.

From 1946 to 1960 the church bore the name of and was known as Saint Joseph Apostolic Church.

In 1960, the church was re-christened. Its name was changed to, and since has borne and come to be known by the name of Saint Joseph’s Chosen Church of God.