A Federal High Court in Lagos has approved the appointment of Mrs. Evelyn Joshua as trustee of SCOAN.
Justice Tijjani Ringim issued the consent on Thursday while ruling on a petition submitted by several concerned church members, namely Kola Kareem and Moji Oguntoyinbo, on behalf of all Synagogue Church of All Nations – SCOAN members.
In the petition, they asked the court to appoint widow of the church’s founder as a trustee, in accordance with the church’s constitution, which calls for a minimum of three trustees for SCOAN.
The petitioners claimed that their petition was prompted by the untimely death of SCOAN’s late General Overseer, who was also a church trustee.
They claimed that the two surviving members of the Board of Trustees lacked the legal competence to make the decisions needed to take the church forward, citing the constitution’s requirement that the Board of Trustees have at least three members.
“In the circumstances, it became necessary to appoint an extra trustee to fill the void created by the deceased founder’s untimely death,” they stated.
The Incorporated Trustees of SCOAN, the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), and the late founder’s were were sued by the members.
Emeka Ekweozor was their lawyer in court, while Ossazu Owie represented the first and second respondents.
The CAC was represented by another lawyer, O.N. Chukwu.
All of the respondents told the court that they were not adverse to the petition filed under Section 839 (6) (B) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020 through their lawyers (as Amended).
The court lost no time in granting the approval because the respondents had raised no objections, and the move is expected to provide more clarity on the church’s leadership succession.
