By TAIYE AGBAJE

The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Monday, affirmed the United Methodist Church in Nigeria (UMCN) as the validly registered name at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).

Justice Obiora Egwuatu, in a judgment, directed the CAC to immediately reverse the church’s name from Global Methodist Church in Nigeria (GMCN) to UMCN.

Justice Egwuatu also ordered the commission to reverse the change ‘of the names of the trustees of the church made to the incorporated certificate of the church on Oct. 19, 2024, for being unlawful, invalid, null and void.

The judge equally ordered the Zenith Bank Plc, the 3rd defendant in the suit, to grant members of the plaintiffs’ church (UMCN) immediate access and control to all the church accounts opened and domiciled with the bank.

Justice Egwuatu declared that the alteration of the church’s name to GMCN was unlawful and inconsistent with established legal and procedural requirements.

He held that the CAC failed to comply with the provisions of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), particularly regarding the proper procedure for altering names and trustees of an incorporated body.

The judge further held that it is trite that members of an association, such as a church, must be bound by its constitution and that the court cannot interfere in the affairs.

According to the judge, when one has agreed to be a member of an association voluntarily, he must be ready to abide by its rules and regulations.

“A member of an association can associate or disassociate from an association and not leaving the association by changing the name of the association,” he said citing a previous case decision.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the suit, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/ 1891/2024, was instituted by four members of UMCN, who had sued for themselves and on behalf of members of the church.

They are Benjamin Simon, Rev. Dr Eunice Iliya, Bishop Emmanuel Ande and Rev. Eli Yaku as 1st to 4th plaintiffs.

The plaintiffs named CAC, Incorporated Trustees of Global Methodist Church in Nigeria and Zenith Bank Plc as 1st to 3rd defendants respectively.

The dispute arose following the decision by the CAC to approve a name change for the church allegedly initiated by a breakaway faction, identified as the GMCN.

The UMCN challenged the action, arguing that due process was not followed and that the amendment violated both statutory provisions and the church’s internal governance structure.

The plaintiffs, through their lawyer, Chinedu Udora, sought 23 reliefs and four questions for determination.

The plaintiffs had prayed the court to determine whether by virtue of the supremacy clause, Article 1, Article 4, Article 6 and Article 12 of the Constitution of the UMCN of July 14, 2014, the 2nd defendant’s application to the 1st defendant for the change of name of UMCN to GMCN was validly made.

Delivering the judgment, Justice Egwuatu granted all the reliefs sought by the plaintiffs.

The judge, however, did not make an order as to cost.

Earlier, the court dismissed a motion filed by the CAC to arrest the delivery of the judgment.

Justice Egwuatu agreed with the plaintiffs’ counsel that the court was functus officio to allow CAC file a further and better affidavit to an application that had already been taken and the case adjourned for judgment.

The judge described the 1st defendant’s action as “an abuse of court process.”

Reacting, the Presiding Bishop of the United Methodist Church in Nigeria, Cameroon and Senegal, Emmanuel Ande, described the judgment as a victory for the rule of law and due process.

He, however, said that the judgment did not call for celebration, but an opportunity for reconciliation among members.

“This is not a judgment to celebrate. From the beginning, the church is not supposed to be in court,” he said.

Ande, who extended an olive branch to the breakaway members, said “Jesus Christ has taught us the ministry of reconciliation.

“Therefore, we are not really happy because this is one church. We are Christians, we need to build a united church.

“I want to throw this invitation to my brothers and sisters of Global Methodist Church, that the United Methodist Church is always their home.

“This church will always be ready to accept them if they want to come back.

“If they choose to continue to form their new denomination, I will advise them to do it respectfully in accordance to the laws of this land,” he said. (NAN)

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