AKINWALE ABOLUWADE
An Oyo State High Court has dismissed a suit filed by Rev. Emmanuel Oyewole Oyekan and four others challenging the authority of the Nigerian Baptist Convention and its President, Rev. Dr. Israel Adelani Akanji.
Justice O.A. Adetujoye, sitting at Court 11 of the High Court Complex, Ring Road, Ibadan, ruled on Thursday, June 19, 2025, that the claimants lacked the legal standing to sue, as they were no longer recognized members of the Convention. The case, marked 1/710/2024, was dismissed on the grounds of a preliminary objection raised by the defendants.
The plaintiffs had sought to contest the Convention’s decision to derobe Oyekan and nine other pastors, and to disfellowship Ajegunle Baptist Church, as communicated in a letter dated June 10, 2024. However, the Convention’s legal team, led by the firm of Chief Adeniyi Akintola (SAN) & Co., argued that the plaintiffs had no right to bring the action, having formed a separate entity known as New Glory Baptist Church, which is registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission.
While the case was ongoing, several members of Ajegunle Baptist Church and pastors from its affiliate churches publicly dissociated themselves from the lawsuit, leading the Convention to reverse its earlier actions concerning those individuals.
Justice Adetujoye agreed with the defence that the plaintiffs’ disaffiliation from the Convention rendered the court action incompetent, and accordingly struck it out.
Reacting to the ruling, Secretary of the Board of Trustees of the Nigerian Baptist Convention, Seyon Idowu Koshoedo, issued a statement on Saturday, noting that the verdict had brought clarity and closure to the controversy surrounding Ajegunle Baptist Church.
“Thus, all controversies over Ajegunle Baptist Church have been resolved in favour of the Nigerian Baptist Convention.”
