Acquisition and protection of church property under Nigerian law: issues, challenges and some lessons for churches

Abstract

Section 38 of the Constitution of Nigeria 1999 guarantees freedom of religion for churches and other religious organisations. This freedom allows churches to acquire and manage their own property to carry out their religious objectives. However, these religious institutions are to comply with the civil law requirements regarding acquisition, management and disposition of their property. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in legal disputes, which may adversely impact on the churches. This article accordingly analyses some case examples to pinpoint some legal issues arising from the processes of acquisition and management of property by Nigerian churches. This is against the backdrop of the increasing legal disputes involving the acquisition and management of church property in the country. The article observes among others that the churches’ failure to have good procedures to ensure that they conduct due diligence and comply with the civil law standards regarding the acquisition of property can be attributed as contributing to the increasing lawsuits. The article further implicates most lawyers that represent churches in lawsuits as not having adequate knowledge of church law and its workings. Following the above findings, the article proffers some recommendations to aid churches in the effective management of their properties.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 In this context, a church refers to a particular Christian congregation whose primary purpose is to conduct worship and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. This includes the mainline, evangelical and charismatic, and African Independent churches.

2 In this context, ‘property’ refers to church’s immovable property and it is specifically limited to an interest in land and buildings, such as the place of worship and associated buildings like churchyards, church halls, and residences for clergy.

3 LJ Sirico ‘Church Property Disputes: Churches as Secular and Alien Institutions’ (1986–1987) 55 Fordham Law Review 335; Karl Schmitt ‘Church and State: A Corporatist Relationship’ (1984) 40 (3) The Americas 349-376; John Witte Jr. ‘Tax Exemption of Church Property: Historical Anomaly or Valid Constitutional Practice’ (1990) 64 South Carolina Law Review 363; IA Akinloye ‘Incapacitation of Incorporated Trustees and Governance of Churches and NGOs in Nigeria: A Commentary of Omomobi v Adeoye’ (2018) 9(2) Gravitas Rev Bus Property Law 45.

4 Church autonomy refers to the principle that protects the institutional independence of churches to self-regulation and from interference on the part of the state and other external actors. It is also described variously as ‘religious autonomy, ecclesiastical abstention, hands-off approach, freedom of the church, and ministerial exception, among others. See generally, R Garnet ‘A Hands-off Approach to Religious Doctrine: What Are We Talking About?’ (2009) 84(2) Notre Dame Law Rev 837; P Horwitz ‘Act III of the Ministerial Exception’ (2012) 106 Northwestern Univ Law Rev 973; E Nwauche ‘The Religious Question and the South African Constitutional Court: Justice Ngcobo in Prince and De Lange’ (2017) 32(1–2) South Afr Publ Law 1 at 3.

5 The mainline churches, also known as the established or mainstream, are churches with ancient roots often from connection to the colonial powers and missionaries, such as the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), the Methodist Church and the Presbyterian Church.

6 African Independent Churches are churches that are established independently in Africa by Africans. In other words, they are churches that express Christianity in the African context.

7 In this context, a dispute means a conflict between a church congregation and a non-church member that emanates from the management of a church property and result in a lawsuit.

8 See Re: Incorporated Trustees of Acts of Apostolic Church v The Registered Trustees of Acts of Apostle Church (2015) LPELR-24727 (CA); Godwin v Christ Apostolic Church (1998) 14 NWLR (Pt. 584) 162; Owolabi v Ajana (1969) NCLR 27; Diocesan Synod of Lagos v Dedeke (1956) LLR 30.

9 See Anyaegbunam v Osaka (2000) 5 NWLR (Pt 657) 386; Onibudo v Abiku (1982) 2 FNLR 224; Awoyo v Opere (1976) NSCC 1; Adeboyega v Igbinosun (1969) All NLR 1.

10 See Agbroko v The Divine Church of God (2013) 6 iLAW/; Registered Trustees of Cherubim and Seraphim Church Movement v Ijaodola (2007) 5 iLAW/; Registered Trustees, Holy Apostolic Church v Ayeni (2002) FWLR (Pt. 115) 708; Irondi v The Registered Trustees of the True Assemblies of God Church Nigeria (2002) 1 FHCLR 50; Ajayi v The Registered Trustees of Ona Iwa Mimo (1998) 7 NWLR (Pt 556) 156; Registered Trustees of the Nigeria Baptist Convention v The Registered Trustees of the African Church Organization (1992) 7 NWLR (Pt. 251) 105; Eternal Sacred Order of the Cherubim and Seraphim v Adewunmi; Talabi v The Eternal Sacred Order of Cherubim and Seraphim (1974) 2 CCHCJ 171; Adegbite v Lawal (1948) 12 WACA 398, 400.

11 IA Akinloye ‘Human Flourishing, Church Leadership and Legal Disputes in Nigeria Churches’ in MC Green (ed) Law, Religion and Human Flourishing in Nigeria (African Sun Media 2019) 25.

12 N Doe Christian Law: Contemporary Principles (Cambridge University Press 2013) 310. For a similar comment within the Nigerian context, see IE Ekwo Incorporated Trustees: Law and Practice in Nigeria (LexisNexis 2007) 102.

13 Generally, scholars variously refer to church ‘governing instruments’ as internal regulatory instruments, church law, church covenants, church constitution, church order, church polity, church law, church legal orders, and church founding documents, among others. However, Ekwo, a theologian and legal author, defines a church constitution as ‘a set of rules, regulations, principles, doctrines or tenets by which the body has prepared itself to sanction its beliefs, activities and the relationship between the members inter se and amongst the association, its principal operators and its members’. See IE Ekwo 29.

14 The phrase ‘freedom of religion’ is a recognised human right that means different things to different people. The scope of what it entails varies between states, religions, individuals, and legal instruments on the subject matter. What appears to gain consensus, however, is that freedom of religion implies a state’s duty to refrain from interfering with an individual or community’s pursuit of a chosen religious belief; a right to choose and change one’s religion without force and coercion, including the freedom to manifest and practise the religion individually or in fellowship with other believers. See section 38 of the Nigeria 1999 Constitution, 1999. See further, JO Ezeanokwasa, BE Ewulum and OO Mbanugo ‘Religious Freedom and Its Limitations under the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria’ (2016) 7 Nnamdi Azikwe University Journal of International Law and Jurisprudence 55; Du Plessis LM ‘The Protection of Religious Rights in South Africa’s Transitional Constitution’ (1994) 59(2) Koers 151; Devenish GE ‘Freedom of Religion, Belief and Opinion’ (1995) Obiter 15.

15 See also, C Evans Freedom of Religion under the European Convention on Human Rights (Oxford University Press 2001) 107; N Doe Law and Religion in Europe (Oxford University Press 2011) 165. Doe posits: ‘The peaceful enjoyment of property is a fundamental aspect of both religious freedom and the right of faith communities to institutional autonomy’.

16 See P Cane and J Conaghan The New Oxford Companion to Law (Oxford University Press: Oxford. 2008) 943.

17 MP Van Huffel ‘Control, Secede, Vested Rights and Ecclesiastical Property’ (2011) 37(2) Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae 174.

18 [1979] 75 Ill. App. 3d 538, 547. See also, Malicki v Doe [Fla. 2002] 814 So. 2d 347 at 350. Similarly, in the Nigerian case of Eternal Sacred Order of Cherubim and Seraphim v Adewunmi (1969) 2 ALC 273, 290, Coker ACJN held that the management of the property of a church is tied to the autonomy of the church.

19 See The Holy Bible, Luke 16:9–13 for the biblical requirements for a steward’s faithfulness.

20 For instance, section 827(c)(iv) of the Nigerian Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020 (CAMA) stipulates that the constitution of a church that registers trustees in terms of the CAMA must contain provisions for the keeping of accounts. Section 838(1) of CAMA further states that the income and property of a church must be applied solely towards the promotion of the objects of the church as set forth in its constitution.  

21 Van Huffel ‘Control, Secede, Vested Rights and Ecclesiastical Property’ 175–176.

22 Doe Christian Law 315; see also, MB Adebayo Christians’ Responses to Fraud Issues (Nigerian Baptist Convention Publication Department: Ibadan. 2012) xxi, 96.

23 A fiduciary responsibility in this regard refers to an obligation to act in good fapth and the best interest of the church. It is ethical and legal responsibility. Typically, the duties of a fiduciary include loyalty and reasonable care of the property and assets within custody.

24 In a principal-agent relationship, the agent acts on behalf of the principal and should not have a conflict of interest in carrying out the act. See further, MC Okany Nigerian Commercial Law (Africana First Publishers PLC 2009) 472-483; George Etomi An Introduction to Commercial Law in Nigeria: Text Cases and Materials (MIJ Publishers 2014) 68.

25 (1998) 14 NWLR (Pt 584) 162.

26 Godwin v Christ Apostolic Church 173.

27 Adebayo Christians’ Responses to Fraud Issues 54. Emphasis added.

28 Section 43 of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 guarantees the right of every Nigeria citizen to acquire and own immovable property anywhere in Nigeria.

29 IB Oluwatayo, O Timothy and AO Ojo ‘Land Acquisition and Use in Nigeria: Implications for Sustainable Food and Livelihood Security’ accessed at https://www.intechopen.com/books/land-use-assessing-the-past-envisioning-the-future/land-aquisition-and-use-in-nigeria-implications-for-sustainable-food-and-livelihood-security

30 Oluwatayo et al. ‘Land Acquisition and Use in Nigeria: Implications for Sustainable Food and Livelihood Security’.

31 Some of the statutes that govern land acquisition include the Nigerian Constitution 1999; Land Use Act 1978; Land Use Act 1978; registration of Titles Law of Lagos State 2003; Property and Conveyancing Law, Cap 100 Laws of Western Region of Nigeria and Registration of Titles Law. Some other laws to also regulate property acquisition in Nigeria, include customary law, the Received English Law and judicial precedent.

32 Olaleye v Trustees of ECWA (2011) 2 NWLR (Pt. 1230) 139.

33 Certificate of occupancy is an instrument of title issued either by the state governor or local government chairpersons as evidence that the state has conferred on the holder of the certificate the statutory or customary right to occupy the land for a defined period of time (99 years in most cases). These certificates are the highest level of land security certification in Nigeria. However, the certificate merely evidence that a grantee has a right of occupancy. It does not confer on a grantee any interest or right which he did not have before. See Orlu v Gogo-Abite (2010) (Pt. 1196) 307; Trimskay Nigeria Ltd v Bankole-Oki (2015) LPELR – 24518 (CA).

34 YY Dadem Property Law Practice in Nigeria (2^nd ed Jos University Press Limited 2012) 211.

35 Dadem Property Law Practice in Nigeria 211, 222

36 A deed of assignment outlines the agreement between the person with the rights to a piece of land and the person to who the rights are being transferred.

37 Dadem Property Law Practice in Nigeria (2^nd ed) 211, 222.

38 See, for instance, Land Registration Law, Cap 85, Laws of Kaduna State, 1991; Land Instruments Registration Law Vol. 3, Laws of Ogun State 2006.

39 Savanah Bank v Ajilo (1987) 2 NWLR (Pt. 57) 421; Dadem Property Law Practice in Nigeria (2^nd ed) 254.

40 Adewale Taiwo The Nigerian Land Law (Princeton Publishing Company Ltd, 2016) 161-162; CO Adubi Drafting and Conveyancing (Five Cowries Publishing Company Ltd, Lagos, 1991) 59.

41 Juristic person is a specific kind of legal subjects, that is, an entity apart from a human being or natural person, to which the law grants legal personality, such as a company, university or the state. See J Heaton The South African Law of Persons (LexisNexis, 2012) 2; WJ Hosten, AB Edwards, F Bosman and J Church, Introduction to South African Law and Legal Theory (2nd edn, Butterworths 1988) 553–554.

42 Asonzeh Ukah, ‘Obeying Caesar to Obey God: The Dilemmas of Registration of Religious Organizations in Nigeria’, in Pieter Coertzen, M. C. Green, and Len Hansen (eds), Law and Religion in Africa: The Quest for the Common Good in Pluralistic Societies (African Sun Media, 2015), 317, 320; Nwauche, ‘Law, Religion and Human Rights in Nigeria’ (2008) 8 Afr Hum Rights Law J 580.

43 For more details on juristic personality of religious organizations in Nigeria se, IA Akinloye ‘Analysis of the Constitutionality, Practicability, and Enforceability of Tax Regulations Against Religious Organizations in Nigeria’ (2020) Journal of Church and State; IA AKinloye ‘Towards Giving Juristic Personality to Churches Under Common Law in Nigeria’ (2019) 5 DELSU Law Rev.

44 Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020. This new Act repealed the Companies and Allied Matters Act, of 1990, Chapter 20 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.

45 CAMA s. 823 (1) and (2) states: ‘(1) Where two or more trustees are appointed by any community of persons bound together by custom, religion, kinshipor nationality or by anybody or association of persons established for any religious, educational, literary, scientific, social, development, cultural, sportingor charitable purpose, they may, if so authorized by the community, body or association (in this Act referred to as ‘the association’) apply to the Commission in the manner hereafter provided for registration under this Act as a corporate body. (2) Upon being so registered by the Commission, thetrustees shall become a corporate body in accordance with the provisions of section 679 of this Part of this Act’. See also the decision of the court in The Registered Trustees of the Church of the Lord (Aladura) v. Jacob Sheriff (2000)15NWLR (Pt. 689) 165.

46 CAMA, s. 823 (2).

47 Akintunde Emiola Corporation Law (Ogbomoso: Emiola Publishers, 2005),100; Ukah, ‘Obeying Caesar to Obey God: The Dilemmas of Registration of Religious Organizations in Nigeria’, 319.

48 Emiola Corporation Law, 95–97; Akinloye ‘Towards Giving Juristic Personality to Churches Under Common Law in Nigeria’; Olaniyan v. University of Lagos (1985) 2 NWLR (Pt. 9) 623.

49 Onuekwusi v. The Registered Trustees of the Christ Methodist Zion Church (2011) All FWLR (Pt. 573) 1 at 26 paragraphs A–D; See also, Anyaegbunam v. Osaka (2002) 5 NWLR (Pt. 657) 386 at 398 where the Nigerian Supreme Court held: ‘An unincorporated association does not legally exist and must of necessity act through its appointed representatives. On the other hand, a corporate entity, i.e., an association that has been incorporated has legal personality. It can sue and be sued in its corporate name’.

50 See further, CAMA, ss, 830 (1)(d) and 841.

51 CAMA, s. 830 (1)(c).

52 RR Hammar Pastor, Church and Law (Gospel Publishing House, 1983) 128.

53 Onuekwusi v The Registered Trustees of the Christ Methodist Zion Church (2011) All FWLR (Pt. 573) 1.

54 CAMA, ss. 830 (1) and (2); 840 and 841 (1).

55 CAMA, s. 830 (1)(a)

56 Onuekwusi v The Registered Trustees of the Christ Methodist Zion Church (2011) All FWLR (Pt. 573) 1; Registered Trustees of Apostolic Church v The Attorney General of Mid-Western State.

57 CAMA, s. 837.

58 (1998) NWLR (Pt 570) 514; See also, Lebile v The Registered Trustees, Cherubim and Seraphim (1996) 2 NWLR (Pt 431) 494; Methodist Church Trustees v Fatunke (1971) 1 NCLR 227.

59 Nkume v The Registered Trustees of the Diocese of Aba 521.

60 Nkume v The Registered Trustees of the Diocese of Aba 520.

61 Nkume v The Registered Trustees of the Diocese of Aba 528.

62 Nkume v The Registered Trustees of the Diocese of Aba 521, 523. Ayoola JSC in the concurring judgment said: ‘I agree with him that the vital issue is whether there was evidence that the Diocese of Aba was the successor to the interest of the Diocese of the Niger in the land in dispute. Unless that fact is established the ownership of the land could not stand’.

63 Episcopal is a form of church government in which the bishop rules.

64 A diocese is a sphere of jurisdiction of a bishop or the district under the pastoral care of a bishop. See JA Simpson and ESC Weiner The Oxford English Dictionary 2 ed Vol IV (Clarendon Press: United Kingdom. 1989) 687.

65 See article 23(xiv) of the Constitution of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, 2002; See also, article 21 of the Constitution of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, 2017, which deals with ‘Formation of Dioceses. It describes the creation or merging of a new diocese in a clearer language. It states: ‘The Metropolitan and Bishops of the Province in Synod shall have the power, subject to the following restrictions, of subdividing existing Dioceses, or uniting two Dioceses under one Bishop, of transferring any district from one Diocese to another, to which such district is contiguous, and of sending forth Missionary Bishops to regions beyond the existing Province’; See also, Eternal Sacred Order of Cherubim and Seraphim v Adewunmi 290.

66 (1969) All NLR 1.

67 See, for example, Ogbahon v Registered Trustees Celestial Church of Christ (2002) 1 NWLR (Pt 749) 675; The Registered Trustees of Mission Hospital Committee v Adeagbo (1992) 2 NWLR (Pt 226) 690; Registered Trustee of Anwarudeen Society v Mogaji (2004) All FWLR (Pt 237) 488.

68 (1991) 6 NWLR (Pt 195) 111.

69 See further, Okosi v Azangbeb (2003) 8 FR 236; Aiyektiv v Registered Trustees, in re: Tijani (2003) 10 FR 174; Registered Trustees of Apostolic Church v Olowoleni (1990) 6 NWLR (Pt 158) 514; The Registered Trustee of the Diocese of Northern Nigeria v Manu (1985-1986) BOLR 26; Adegboyega v Igbinosun.

70 (2011) 2 NWLR (Pt. 1230) 139.

71 In Oyedoke v The Registered Trustees of Christ Apostolic Church (2001) 3 NWLR (Pt. 701) 621, the court listed five ways by which a title to land can be proven under Nigerian law. These are traditional evidence, production of documents of title, acts of ownership, acts of long possession, and possession of connected or adjacent land. See further, Lebile v The Registered Trustees of Cherubim and Seraphim Church of Zion of Nigeria; Okechukwu v Okafor (1961) All NLR 715; Gangariya v The Registered Trustees of Methodist Church of Nigeria (1992) 4 NWLR (Pt. 238) 763; Iseru v Catholic Bishop, Warri Diocese (1997) 3 NWLR (Pt 495) 517.

72 In Gangariya v The Registered Trustees of Methodist Church of Nigeria, it was held that the common law rule, which requires a corporation aggregate to appoint an agent by an instrument under its common seal applies to a body registered as an incorporated trustee. Also, section 840 of the CAMA stipulates that the common seal of the incorporated trustees of a church, if any, shall have such device as may be specified in the constitution, and any instrument to which the common seal of the corporate body has been affixed in apparent compliance with the regulations for the use of the common seal shall be binding on the corporate body notwithstanding any defect or circumstances affecting the execution of such instrument’; See also, Odesanya v Registered trustees of Deeper Life Christian Life Ministry (Unreported, Suit No. CA/1/1145/2011).

73 See Fakoya v St Pauls Church (1996) All NLR 68; The Registered Trustees of Apostolic Church, Lagos Area v Akindele (1967) NMLR 263.

74 See the Nigerian Land Use Act 6 of 1978; Savannah Bank Limited v Ajilo (1989) 20 NSCC (Pt 1) 135.

75 World Bank ‘Ease of registering land in selected countries’ http://www.doingbusiness.org/data/exploretopics/registering-property

76 CW Iheme Towards Reforming the Legal Framework for Secured Transactions in Nigeria — Perspectives from the United States and Canada (PhD thesis, Central European University, 2016) 376; Banwo and Ighodalo ‘Registering Properties in Nigeria: A Case for Streamlining the Process’ http://www.banwo-ighodalo.com/assets/grey-matter/276a4a877e250305c4788d83182a72eb.pdf (accessed 12 November 2018); IB Oluwatay et al ‘Land Acquisition and Use in Nigeria: Implications for Sustainable Food and Livelihood Security’.

77 Unreported, Suit No: FCT/ABJ/CS/1111/07.

78 Omomobi v Adeoye 2.

79 This is an equivalent of about 21,000 US dollars at the time of carrying out this study.

80 Omomobi v Adeoye 3-4.

81 Omomobi v Adeoye 17.

82 Omomobi v Adeoye 15-16.

83 Omomobi v Adeoye 47.

84 Omomobi v Adeoye 51.

85 Omomobi v Adeoye 51.

86 Omomobi v Adeoye 51.

87 (2011) All FWLR (Pt. 573) 1.

88 Omomobi v Adeoye 54.

89 (2017) LPELR- 42573 (SC).

90 Ordinance 32 of 1924.

91 The Land (Perpetual Succession) Ordinance 1924 was introduced by the colonial administration in Nigeria. The statute made provisions to enable trustees of unincorporated associations and organisations to be appointed and incorporated to have perpetual succession and to hold land on behalf of the association. This statute was in force for 66 years before it was modified and incorporated as Part C of the Companies and Allied Matters Act 1990, Cap C20 LFN 2004, and now Part F of the CAMA 2020; See generally, A Emiola Corporation Law (Emiola Publishers 2005) 99-100; Ekwo 2-4; Ukah ‘Obeying Caesar to obey God: The Dilemmas of Registration of Religious Organisations in Nigeria’ in P Coertzen, MC Green and L Hansen (eds), Law and Religion in Africa: The Quest for the Common Good in Pluralistic Societies (African Sun Media: Stellenbosch. 2015) 318–320.

92 Dairo v Registered Trustees of the Anglican Diocese of Lagos 21–22.

93 The Anglican Church in Nigeria has 166 dioceses and each of all the dioceses has a chancery department comprising of only senior legal practitioners and judges. See The Church of Nigeria Anglican Communion): Church Book and Desk Diary (2018) 16–17.

94 See further, IA Akinloye ‘Dairo v Registered Trustees of the Anglican Diocese of Lagos (2017) LPELR- 42573 (SC): An Evaluation of the St Saviour’s Church (Miscellaneous) Act 1991 and Its Implication for the Legal Status of the Anglican Diocese of Lagos’ (2019) 8(1) Oxford J Law Relig 206–212; See also, M Hill Ecclesiastical Law (3rd edn, Oxford University Press 2007) 3.76. Hill posits, ‘Archbishops, bishops, archdeacons and incumbents are corporate sole, and a parochial church council is a corporation aggregate’.

95 However, given the provision of article 32(1) of the Constitution of the Church, which provides for the creation of committees and departments of the Church, there might be a committee that deals with the protection of the church property. If the committee therefore exists, then it seems to be ineffective.

96 National Universities Commission ‘Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards for Postgraduate Programmes in Law in Nigerian Universities 2011’ 12, para 6.0 lists Islamic Law as one of the courses that may be offered at LLM and M.Phil.; See also, National Universities Commission ‘Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards for Undergraduate Programmes in Nigerian Universities—Law 2007’, paras 2.1(f) and 2.1.6.2(a) 20–25 that permit a Faculty of Law to establish a department of Islamic Law and offer Islamic Law courses.

97 Ekwo Incorporated Trustees: Law and Practice in Nigeria 12–13.

98 Van Huffel 2011 Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae 181. Emphasis added; See also, J Grobler The Essential Legal Guide for Pastors and Church Leaders in South Africa 2 ed (Integrity Publishers: Westgate 2014). Grobler, a South African legal practitioner and author, shared his experience in legal practice in South Africa in the preface to his book as follows: ‘In the course of my legal practice I’ve seen many church leaders not having a basic knowledge of the law of our land, even where the law affects church matters. The result is that they and their churches are legally vulnerable, more open to legal wrangles and less effective in counselling their members. Every now and then we hear of court cases where churches are involved. Many of these could have been avoided if the church leaders were more knowledgeable on legal matters.

99 Doe Christian Law 9 citing R Williams ‘Civil and Religious Law in England: A Religious Perspective’ (2008) 10(3) Ecclesiastical Law J 262; See also, R Sandberg Law and Religion (2011), especially chapter ten.

100 (1986) LPELR-3237 (SC) 1.

101 Tsele has further observed, ‘It is near impossible to completely debunk one’s religious outlook, even in the context of judging.’ See M Tsele ‘Rights and Religion; Bias and Beliefs: Can a Judge Speak God’ (2018) 43(1) J Juridical Sci 1 at 15.

102 In the Nigerian case of Asani v Adeosun (1966) NMLR 268, 274, a case involving a religious dispute among Moslems, the court applied secular law in the absence of an internal self-regulatory instrument. In the case, the Supreme Court held, ‘There is no evidence of any rules, which govern the practice of the community in the appointment of a Chief Imam and as the learned counsel for the appellants submits; the rules of the common law to the effect that in such cases the appointment should be made by the entire community’.

103 Thomas v Olufosoye 31–32. Emphasis added.

104 Omomobi v Adeoye 51.

105 See CAMA, s 841; Property and Conveyancing Law, Chapter 100 Laws of Western Region of Nigeria, 1959, s 98(1); Nigerian Conveyancing Act 1881, s 8; YYD Dadem Property Law and Practice in Nigeria (Jos University Press Limited: Jos. 2009) 62–63; IO Smith Practical Approach to Law of Real Property in Nigeria (Ecowatch Publications Nigeria Limited: Lagos. 1999) 150–151.

106 Order 3 Rule 2(1)(c) of the Lagos State High Court Civil Procedure Rules 2012 stipulates: ‘All civil proceedings commenced by writ of summons shall be accompanied by written statements on oath of the witnesses except witnesses on a subpoena’. See also, Nigerian Oaths Act 23 of 1963, s 13; Guaranteed Trust Bank Plc v Abiodun (2017) LPELR-42551 (CA); Onochie v Odogwu (2006) 6 NWLR (Pt. 975) 65; Obumneke v Sylvester (2010) All FWLR (Pt. 605) 1945, 1947.

107 Nkume v The Registered Trustees of the Diocese of Aba 522E.

108 Onuekwusi v The Registered Trustees of the Christ Methodist Zion Church 7–8. Emphasis added.

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Notes on contributors

Idowu Adelana Akinloye

Idowu Adelana Akinloye holds B.Th, LL.B, LL.M, & Ph.D degrees from, Archbishop Vining College of Theology, Delta State University, Obafemi Awolowo University and Rhodes University respectively. He was recently awarded the Prestigious Young Scholars Fellowship on Religion and the Rule of Law.