Assemblies of God crisis: Ubani call on Police to uphold Supreme Court Judgment

The second vice-president of Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Onyekachi Ubani, has called on the police to enforce the Supreme Court judgment which sacked Reverend Paul Emeka as the General Superintendent of Assemblies of God.

Ubani, who is also a member of the church, said that since the apex court delivered judgment in favor of the church on the leadership crisis rocking it, the police has refused to allow them have access to the church headquarters which has been under lock.

According to Ubani, Reverend Emeka has been sacked by the court yet, he still parades himself as the General Superintendent of the church while still occupying the church properties.

In his words, Ubani warned against possible break down of peace and order in the church.

“I implore the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris, to carry out the judgment of the Supreme Court by letting the church repossess the secretariat of Assemblies God of Nigeria in Enugu and vacate all other properties scattered all over the country which he has sat upon based on the erroneous judgment of an Enugu High Court which the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court have all nullified,” Ubani stated.

He said the church does not want a breakdown of law and order as a foremost pentecostal church in Nigeria, adding that they cannot be seen to employ unorthodox methods in resolving what rightfully belongs to them.

The legal activist noted that more intriguing in the legal battle over the leadership of the church is the “foot dragging and prevarication of the police to let us take back our secretariat from Rev Paul Emeka.

We would have taken possessions of all our properties in his custody all this while but for the intervention of the Nigerian Police authorities who advised the church to allow the Supreme Court to deliver its judgment.

“Now that this judgment has been delivered dismissing the appeal of Rev Paul Emeka, what appellate options is the Police waiting for? We refuse to think that the Nigerian Police is protecting a dismissed church member and leader while leaving the church itself unprotected.

“We do not understand why the police locked up our secretariat leaving the church to squat in residential houses, hotels and schools. We do not know how long the police will keep this going. We do not know the rationale for police’s ambivalence in the face of the dismissal of Paul Emeka’s suit by the Supreme Court,” Ubani said.

He further noted that Rev Emeka has been deceiving his few followers that the Supreme Court judgment declared him as the substantive General Superintendent of AG Nigeria and that his suspension and dismissal by the General council of AG Nigeria was a nullity and unconstitutional, while he emphasized that the recent Supreme Court Judgment concerning the church, Reverend Emeka seizes to be a member of Assemblies of God in Nigeria.

“For the record, Paul Emeka is no longer a member of the Assemblies of God Nigeria. He is no longer a pastor in the church. He is no longer a leader of the church. He is no longer a trustee of the Church, having been duly removed and the current certificate from the Corporate Affairs Commission reflects this,” he said.