A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, on Thursday, approved Evelyn Joshua as a trustee of the Synagogue Church Of All Nations (SCOAN), founded by her late husband, late Temitope Balogun Joshua.
Justice Tijjani Ringim gave the approval on Thursday while ruling on a petition by some concerned members of the church, especially Kola Kareem and Moji Oguntoyinbo, who filed for themselves and on behalf of all the members of SCOAN.
In the petition, they urged the court to appoint the widow of the founder of the church as a member of the trustees, in line with the constitution of the church, which prescribes a minimum of three trustees for SCOAN.
The petitioners claimed that their petition was premised on the sudden death of the late founder, who was also a church trustee.
They further told the court that the two surviving members of the Board of Trustees lacked the legal capacity to make decisions necessary to move the church forward, as the constitution provides for a minimum of three members on the Board of Trustees.
“In the circumstances, it became imperative for an additional trustee to be appointed to fill the vacancy created by the untimely death of the deceased founder,” they maintained.
The members instituted the suit against the Incorporated Trustees of SCOAN, the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), and the widow.
They were represented in court by Emeka Ekweozor, while Ossazu Owie represented the first and second respondents.
Another counsel, O.N. Chukwu, appeared for the CAC.
All the respondents, through their lawyers, informed the court that they were not opposed to the petition filed under Section 839 (6) (B) of the Companies and Allied matters Act (CAMA) 2020 (as Amended).
With no objections from the respondents, the court wasted no time in granting the approval, with the expectation that the move will provide further clarity on the leadership succession in the church.
