How a breakaway pastor sought to acquire land belonging to his former church – Lessons

By Stephen Azubuike

The Registered Trustees of Apostolic Church of Christ v. The Registered Trustees of Grace Church of Christ [2021] 16 NWLR (Pt. 1801) 105

The Story

A pastor known as Pastor Igbeare was a pastor of the Apostolic Church of Christ and rose to the position of Vice President. The Apostolic Church of Christ was registered in 1963 as the Registered Trustees of Apostolic Church of Christ. (The Appellant). It had several branches, which included the Mushin branch, headed by Pastor Igbeare.

Sometime in 1976, while Pastor Igbeare was still a pastor in the employment of the Apostolic Church of Christ, Mushin branch, he purchased a parcel of land at Ejigbo Town, near Mushin, Lagos, from the Agbeke Family for the Apostolic Church of Christ, Mushin branch. The purchase receipt was in Pastor Igbeare’s custody.

In 1996, the Mushin branch led by Pastor Igbeare broke out from the Apostolic Church of Christ to form a church registered as the Registered Trustees of Grace Church of Christ. (“The Respondent).

After purchasing the land, the Respondent (Grace Church of Christ) applied for Land Information in respect of the land which revealed that the land had been acquired by the Lagos State Government as far back as 1972 vide Official Gazette No. 60 of 7/12/72, Volume 59.

Realising this, the Respondent applied in its own name (Grace Church of Christ) for ratification. The ratification was approved, necessary fees paid and Certificate of Occupancy issued to the Respondent in 1997.

Trouble started

The Appellant sought to organise a revival service scheduled to take place on the disputed land. The Respondent would have none of it. The Respondent claimed that it wrote letters to the Appellant to stay away from the land and move elsewhere for the programme but to no avail.

The Respondent approached the court seeking a declaration that it was entitled to a right of occupancy over the land, perpetual injunction, and damages against the Appellant.

The Respondent contended that each branch of the Appellant generated its own funds and that the branches were coordinate with and not subordinate to the headquarters.

The Appellant (Apostolic Church of Christ) was of the position that the land belongs to the Appellant since all its branches, including the Mushin branch, were under the control and authority of the parent body (the Appellant).

The Appellant contended that Pastor Igbeare was trained by the Church and posted to the Mushin branch where he served with another pastor and that their salaries were paid by the parent body. The Appellant argued that the land in dispute was purchased with funds belonging to the Appellant.

The Appellant stated that after it discovered that the land had been acquired by Lagos State Government, it made efforts to seek a release of the land from Government acquisition but that Pastor Igbeare got wind of the moves and surreptitiously pursued the release of the land on his own for the benefit of the Respondent without the knowledge of the Appellant. Pastor Igbeare was said to have taken advantage of the fact that the purchase receipt was in his possession to get the ratification done in favour of the Respondent.

The trial court held that the land belongs to the Appellant and that the Respondent had no right to apply for ratification.

The Respondent’s appeal to the Court of Appeal succeeded. The Court of Appeal held that the Agbeke Family, having been divested of its title to the land by Government acquisition, had nothing to convey to the Appellant. Therefore, the Court of Appeal upheld the allocation by the Lagos State Government to the Respondent on the basis that upon government acquisition of the land, it was for a public purpose to allocate the land to the Respondent for a place of worship.

The problem with the position of the Court of Appeal was that, significantly, both parties claimed to have purchased the land from the Agbeke Family in 1976 at a time when the Lagos State Government had already acquired the land since 1972. The Respondent’s actual claim to the land was based on the earlier purchase by Pastor Igbeare and a subsequent ratification done in the name of the Respondent. Thus, the Respondent’s claim wasn’t squarely resting on the said Government allocation simpliciter but also on the earlier purchase from Agbeke Family. More so, there was no evidence directly linking the Respondent to Agbeke Family since the Respondent was not in existence in 1976 when the transaction was done.

It is compelling to note that the land was purchased in 1976 while Pastor Igbeare registered the Respondent in 1996, 20 years after. More so, Pastor Igbeare was clearly in the employment of the Appellant when the land was purchased in 1976 and he had admitted that the land was purchased for the Mushin branch of the Appellant.

The Supreme Court was moved along these lines when it upturned the decision of the Court of Appeal. Kekere-Ekun, JSC held at page 138:

Having discovered that there was a defect in the title obtained from the vendors [Agbeke Family], the Appellant [Apostolic Church of Christ] was the party entitled to apply to the Lagos State Government for ratification of same and for the grant of a statutory right of occupation in respect thereof.

The Supreme Court criticised the Court of Appeal for holding that it was for a public purpose to allocate the land under Government acquisition to the Respondent for a place of worship. The apex Court clarified that the evidence on record showed that the allocation to the Respondent was for a residential purpose. In any case, it would be wrong and unconstitutional for the Government to acquire land compulsorily for overriding public purpose or interest and then allocate the same land for religious purpose or a place of worship.

The Supreme Court concluded that the Certificate of Occupancy was obtained by the Respondent on the basis of fraudulent misrepresentation and could not confer a valid title on the Respondent.

This article was originally published on 14 January, 2022 by https://stephenlegal.ng/how-a-breakaway-pastor-sought-to-acquire-land-belonging-to-his-former-church-lessons/

AUTHOR: STEPHEN AZUBUIKE is a lawyer with expertise in Commercial Dispute Resolution and Technology Law practice. He is a Partner at Infusion Lawyers. He has successfully argued cases from the High Courts of various jurisdictions to the Appellate Courts on behalf of financial institutions, other corporate bodies, and multinationals. He has worked with a number of startup tech companies. He tweets @siazubuike.