CAN leadership tussle: Court adopts terms of settle as judgment
The case instituted by Rev. Jeremiah Gado against the Registered Trustees of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) over his exclusion from contesting the 2016 election has been amicably settled.
The plaintiffs, Rev. Gado of ECWA and Pastor Wakili Kadina, instituted the action in 2016 to challenge the conduct of the CAN election.
The suit filed by Mr. Gideon Kuttu, counsel to the plaintiffs, had as defendants, the Registered Trustees of CAN, former CAN President, Pastor Ayo Oritsajafor and Rev. Emmanuel Dziggau,.
Rev. Supo Ayokunle of the Baptist Convention later emerged the CAN President.
Adopting the terms of settlement as judgment on Wednesday, Justice Kessiah Ogbonnaya of the FCT High Court, Abuja, said that the parties in the matter had embraced peace in the spirit of Christianity.
Ogbonnaya in her judgment said that parties had made the resolution to settle the matter after meeting in Jos on February 20, 2017.
“The case is settled amicably to the glory of God; parties would bear their respective costs and the terms of settlement would be filed and adopted as consent judgment.
“The first plaintiff, Rev. Jeremiah Gado and the current CAN President, Dr. Supo Ayokunle, discussed extensively on the way forward for CAN.
“They stressed the need for peaceful resolution of all conflicts and in particular, the extant case, without resort to litigation, in order to protect the integrity of CAN as the umbrella body for all Christians in Nigeria.
“This resolution is also made to strictly comply with the CAN constitution of 2004,” the judge said.
Ogbonnaya further said that both parties have agreed to allow justice and fair play in the scheme of things in the apex Christian body.
Kuttu, counsel to the plaintiffs, told the court that they had reached a successful settlement of the dispute.
Also corroborating what the counsel to the plaintiffs said, Mr. Edwin Okoro, counsel to the defendants, thanked the court for its advisory role in the resolution of the matter.
