THE SUPREME COURT OF NIGERIA’S DECISION IN THE REGISTERED TRUSTEES OF APOSTOLIC CHURCH OF CHRIST V. THE REGISTERED TRUSTEES OF GRACE CHURCH OF CHRIST (2021) LPELR-55340 (SC) REVISITED

Abstract

The Pulpit and the Pew of the Church as an embodiment of the body of Christ are peopled by people and to say that people disagree with each other from time to time to the point of parting ways is saying nothing new though it is un-Christ like. Thus, the issue that is sought to be addressed in this article is this: What should a court take into consideration in determining in whom the title to the consecrated grounds of a church’s property (ies) (that had been in the possession of members of a splinter group before or after being affiliated to a parent church) vest in instances where there is a discord between the splinter group and the parent church and the former decides to go its own way maybe with the belief though unscriptural that many are called and many may also be chosen? The resolution of this question and whether the parties before the Supreme Court were juristic persons form the main plank of this review.