Bola A. Akinterinwa
CCC Doctrine: The Challenge of Juridico-Political Abuse
The dispute between the Board of Trustees (BOT) of the Celestial Church of Christ (CCC) Worldwide and the Pastor of the Church worldwide, Reverend Emmanuel Mobiyina Oshoffa, took a new dimension with the mediation efforts of the incumbent President of the Republic of Benin, Mr. Patrice Talon. Some members of the BOT took the Pastor to court over whether he can always act unilaterally on the basis of Section 108 of the CCC Constitution to the detriment of several other provisions of the same Constitution.
Section 108 of the CCC Constitution says ‘the Pastor, as the ultimate Spiritual Head of the Celestial Church of Christ worldwide, shall be vested with the sole, ultimate, and unchallengeable authority on all matters affecting church life be it planning, organisation, doctrinal standards and spread of doctrines, education, legislation, or discipline, the provisions of this constitution notwithstanding.’ The BOT worldwide has no qualms until the advent of CAMA 2020 which requires the submission of financial situation report twice in a year (June and December) to the Corporate Affairs Commission, failure to comply with the requirement attracts a jail term or fines. When the BOT asked those charged with the management of the financial resources of the Church to provide information on church resources, they refused to comply, arguing that they were only responsible to the Pastor.
The BOT made it crystal clear that the Constitution of the Church cannot take precedence before the Law of the Land because it contradicts the law of Nigeria. Any church constitution that disregards any law of Nigeria cannot but be faced with nullity. Like no sovereign state is allowed to derogate any peremptory norm of international law, no church constitution can override the laws of Nigeria. The Pastor, ill advised, unilaterally dissolved the BOT and the Pastor-in-Council contrarily to the Constitution. The BOT, in the larger interest of the CCC worldwide, referred the matter to the court for legal interpretation of Section 108. It is against this background that the emerging CCC doctrine and the mediation efforts of President Patrice Talon of the Republic of Benin are explained in the context of res judicata.
Res Judicata and Emerging CCC Doctrine
Res Judicata is a doctrine whose origin has been traced to the Roman Law and traced back to the 1774 Case of the Duchesse of Kingston 20 Howell’s State Trials 355. It has three defining features: judicial economy, consistency, and finality. Res Judicata is the Latin word for ‘the thing has been judged.’ It refers to an issue before a court that has already been decided upon by another court, between the same parties. Consequently, Res Judicata is not simply an issue considered to have been judged by a competent court, but also one that does not deserve revisiting again. The principles of res gestae and res ipsa loquitor lend much credence to this observation. Res gestae simply means ‘things done’ in terms of all circumstances surrounding and connected with an event, happening, or a crime. Res ipsa loquitor refers to ‘the thing speaks for itself.’
And true enough, Res Judicata is a resultant from the maxim nemo debet bis vexari pro una eteadem causa, meaning ‘no one should be troubled twice for the same cause.’ The origination of the principle under the Medieval Canon Law was basically to prevent endless disputes. In the same vein, under English Common Law, Res Judicata underscores judgment to have finality in order to protect judicial integrity and unnecessary redundant litigation. More importantly, Res Judicata has not only become a fundamental legal principle under civil law tradition but has also been generally applied in international tribunals and arbitration courts.
From the foregoing therefore, Res Judicata prevents double jeopardy in criminal law. It promotes legal certainty across borders, as well as enhances fairness and finality of litigations. In other words, when a thing or an issue has been judged, it necessarily speaks for itself thereafter, especially along with its definienda. If it is to be revisited for whatever reason, the judgment can only be appealed to, but not to the applicable principle per se. This is why the desire of the legal team seeking to defend the Pastor of the CCC worldwide, Reverend Emmanuel Mobiyina Oshoffa, at the Federal High Court, in Ikoyi, Lagos, is quite thought-provoking. Very thought-provoking because it is a direct assault on the principle of Res Judicata, which is a critical principle of international law and diplomatic practice.
Put differently and interrogatively, what happens to the principle of precedence? The quest to have the doctrine of res judicata thrown into the garbage of history in Nigeria’s legal system largely explains why the Celestial Church of Christ is always fraught with mountainous problems and setbacks that have always impeded the spiritual progress of the church. By intending to submit an application to the court with the ultimate objective of an alternative dispute resolution, Pastor Mobiyina Oshoffa’s legal team cannot but have the potential to taint the good image of the Pastor and that of the CCC worldwide. It particularly has the potential to destroy whatever the principle of precedence stands for in judicial settlements. This is why the Pastor and the CCC must learn to admit that the laws of the CCC cannot override the laws of Nigeria or of Benin Republic. The Pastor must admit that darkness and light cannot be friends as darkness readily gives way to light to rein. In other words, parallel lines of truth can never meet with parallel lines of untruth and remissness. This is the missing point in the mediation of the dispute by President Patrice Talon.
The Pastor has the major problem of surrounding himself with people who purport to know more than he does, and by so doing, his kitchen cabinet is consciously misleading him. And joyfully too, the Pastor prefers to be misled and therefore continues to be wrapped up in the glory of making one step forward, but two steps backward. The progress he claimed to have made has actually and sharply divided the church irreconcilably as of today. The intervention of the Beninois president, Patrice Talon, has worsened the matter by ignoring what led to the court litigation in Nigeria. Before expatiating on this, let us look into the status and argument of the legal team of the Pastor in the court.
Please let me note for the avoidance of doubt that I am an ‘educated’ but not ‘learned’ like lawyers in law. However, I observe that Pastor Mobiyina Oshoffa’s legal team has been acting contrarily to the provisions of the Legal Practitioners Act (CAP.20 LFN 1990). Arguing as a layman, I also observe that the team is creating more problems for the Pastor than it is seeking a more harmonious understanding. First, as clearly provided in Section 17(5) of the Act, ‘a lawyer shall not appear as counsel for a client in a legal proceeding in which the lawyer is himself a party.’ In this particular litigation, the lead counsel to the Pastor is precisely the newly appointed secretary of the unregistered Board of Trustees, one major reason for the court litigation. He has generally been so presented in many Church advertorials and he has not denounced the adverts. The lead counsel, therefore, has a vested interest.
Secondly, there is complete disregard for the requirements of CAMA 2020. Why should lawyers be encouraging disrespect for rule of law? Are they no longer agents and instruments of justice? Thirdly, the disregard for rule of law has destabilized and fragmented the CCC worldwide in various ramifications. The Church is now in disarray which should not be the case. Will there ever be an end to conscious misleading of the Pastor? Time will tell.
Fourthly, paragraph (6) of the same Section 17 of the Legal Practitioners Act says ‘where a lawyer is required to decline employment or to withdraw from employment under any of these rules, no partner, associate or any other lawyer affiliated with him or his firm may accept or continue such employment.’ This is the law but the situational reality on the ground is the contrary. Baron de Montesquieu, the French political philosopher who theorized the separation of powers, that power should be decentralized, and that all men are born equal but society makes them lose their equality, could not have been more correct when he also observed that ‘there is no greater tyranny than that which is perpetrated under the shield of the law and in the name of justice.’
As noted earlier, the registered BOT of the CCC worldwide has no problem whatsoever with the person of the Pastor but fundamentally disagrees with any conscious disregard for the rule of law that impedes rather than promote better entente and spiritual progress of the CCC in all ramifications. For instance, the Pastor’s legal team informed the presiding judge at the last court session about an impending application that would ask for the possibility of setting aside an earlier judgment of Justice Peter Lifu in the strong belief that the presiding judge was not pretty bound to accept or continue with the judgment of Justice Lifu. The background to this is necessary at this juncture.
It was Justice Lifu that began with the trial of the case more than two years ago. During the period, he made a number of rulings as a result of unending tactical preliminary objections by the defendants. The objections were aimed at not enabling justice to be quickly done. The legal team tried to secure the transfer of the case to Alternative Dispute Resolution to which the BOT worldwide was not against. But as the French often say, order and counter-order always amount to disorder. Whenever an order is countered, it first and necessarily engenders an encounter. It is when the encounter is not promptly and effectively managed that it finally results in disorder.
When it became very apparent that unending adjournments was creating more problems than solving them, and also because apparently but deductively, Justice Peter Lifu handled all the litigants under transparency and fear of God, he decided that the case should go for trial in light of the inability of both the appellants and defendants to reach agreement on the matter. It is precisely the judgment of not going through the alternative dispute resolution process that Pastor Mobiyina Oshoffa’s legal team is asking the new trial judge to undo what Justice Peter Lifu, who was transferred from Lagos to Abuja, and was therefore unable to conclude the trial of the case. Deductively, the legal team appeared to want to take advantage of the newness of the Judge on the matter by suggesting that it intended to come up with a fresh application in which he would be asking the judge to review the earlier judgment of his learned colleague contrarily to the rule of res judicata. As if this is not enough a problematic, President Patrice Talon of Benin Republic has added salt into the injury with his offer of mediation and actions.
Challenges of Juridico-Political Abuse
President Patrice Guillaume Talon, a successful business entrepreneur elected in 2016 and re-elected in 2022, played host to a meeting purportedly accommodating all diocesan delegates in Benin Republic. Pastor Mobiyina Oshoffa was there but it was not clear in what capacity he was there and in what capacity President Talon offered his mediation of the dispute and strategy for unification of the CCC. Is the mediation initiative that of Pastor Mobiyina Oshoffa or that of President Talon? What makes the Pastor to believe that there could be any constructive way out after refusing the more authentic mediation of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo? The mediation by Chief Obasanjo, held in his Presidential Library, was a major strategic miscalculation by the Pastor for not listening to the former Nigerian leader. The conversations were very frank and the principal disputants were all there.
Yet, the misunderstanding ended up in the court. What really is new about another mediation effort that excludes all the aggrieved parties?
True enough, President Talon made significant points at the meeting. First he said ‘c’est la première fois que que je m’implique dans le dossier de l’église … Je me sens céleste parce que cette église est du temps. C’est la seule église créée par un noir qui s’est répandue dans le monde entire.’ In other words, ‘it is the first time I am involved in the matter of the Church. I feel being Celestian because this Church is of time. It is the only church created by a Blackman that has spread all over the world.’ His feeling is good and welcome because the CCC is truly worth belonging to.
More important, he said that ‘depuis 40 ans que le fondateur est rappelé l’église souffre de stabilité en matière d’organisation. Je suis en mission pour vous aider à organizer l’église qui sera éternelle dans son fonctionnement… Ce qui importe pour moi, Président Talon, c’est sauver cette église. Tous vous avez envie mais il vous manque le courage pour décider. Je veux investir pour changer le visage des choses mais j’ai besoin de votre accord.’ Again put differently, ‘since 40 years ago when the Founder passed away, the Church suffers from instability in terms of organization. I have a mission to assist you in organizing a church that will be eternal in its functioning… What is of concern to me, President Talon, is to save this Church. You all want to do but the courage to decide to do so is lacking. I want to invest to change the face of things but I need your agreement.’
There is no disputing the fact that the Church has been fraught with instability and division. There have been several self-made pastors. However, what type of investments does President Talon want to come up with that will be capable of unifying everyone beyond the Francophone world? Does he want to be the next Pastor of the Church worldwide since he made it clear that he has a mission to organize the church? The vision of the CCC as divinely revealed to the Pastor Founder is to bring all the peoples of the world closer to God, to harvest people for God through evangelism, and serving as the last boat of salvation. The vision is crystal clear but the mission is not. President Talon is a professional politician and a typical businessman. Does he want to invest in the CCC as a businessman, especially in light of the fact that sooner than later, his tenure in office will come to an end?
In the words of President Talon, ‘la deuxième source de revenus de l’Arabie Saoudite est le pèlerinage à la Mecque. Quand je regarde mon pèlerinage j’ai envie de changer avant de finir le peu de temps qui me reste à la tête de ce pays.’ This statement is the most thought-provoking. He said ‘the second source of revenue for Saudi Arabia is pilgrimage to Mecca. When I look at my pilgrimage I like to change before finishing with the little time left as head of this country.’ There is the goodness to want to change but the change to what is not made clear. Many are the questions to answer and many are the unfinished tasks, especially the intentions of the Pastor in Benin Republic and in the law court in Nigeria. What chances are there for President Talon’s mediation to work? This question is germane because his mediation effort did not respond to the requirements of international best practices.
Mediation in international law is largely predicated on some basic management requirements. First is the acceptance of the mediator to all the disputants. In this regard, all the disputants must also agree to be part of the mediation process. This is the principle of acceptability and consent. Secondly, there is the principle of impartiality and neutrality which President Talon flagrantly lacks. He is apparently partial and not neutral by the mere fact of constituting a World Committee to unite the Church that excludes some major stakeholders and by particularly not only appointing himself as the Chair of the mediation committee, but also seeking to play host to the annual Celestial pilgrimage through direct investments.
For instance, Benin Republic has four members: President Patrice Guillaume Talon as Chair, Jean Senou, Kokoye Marcellin Zannou, and Gabriel Soumako. The Côte d’Ivoire was represented by two people: Justin Kouamé Ackan and Hycinthe Sarassoro who actually were not the legitimate representatives. The legitimate representatives of the Côte d’Ivoire, as known by the registered BOT, are as led by Luc Kanon. For Nigeria, the identity of the three representatives, with the exception of Tosho Oshoffa, raises many questions. André Amoussou, Rodrigue Shabi, and Tosho Oshoffa were reportedly the representatives of Nigeria. Who mandated the alleged representatives of Nigeria? Are the alleged representatives of Nigeria really Nigerian by place of worship or by ius soli or place of birth? Additionally, the mere fact of wanting to invest in the Church in Benin or wanting Benin to play host to the annual international pilgrimage has led to many Nigerian Celestians now calling for a separate Nigerian or Anglophone diocese as distinct from the Francophone Diocese that appears to be in the making.
Thirdly, President Talon also breached the third principle of confidentiality. The conversations lacked every jot of confidentiality. The fourth principle of good faith was also not shown at the level of all the parties. And true enough, mediation does not allow for use of coercion. This is the principle of non-coercion. It adopts flexibility and informality, and more importantly, mediation is to guide and have respect for sovereignty and international law. It jettisons a winner-loser outcome. In other words, the ultimate objective of any good mediation is always a win-win outcome or no victor and no vanquished in the mania of General Yakubu Gowon. What President Talon has done, as good as it may look, cannot be helpful to a truly united church. It only has the potential to unite the Francophones against the Anglophone and Lusophone members of the Church. In essence, thousands of Nigerians want to eke out a good living by simply passing most of their precious time in churches and mosques but without accepting dint of hard work as the first clue to good life, safety, and security. Nigeria is one of the leading religious countries in the world. Yet Nigeria still remains a fantastically corrupt country. The court is believed to be the last hope for justice but lawyers use technical arguments to undermine justice in the courts. People who are elected to make laws for the purposes of good governance are the very people leaving at home their own wives and running after other married women and promoting promiscuity as a legislative business. The CCC is supposed to be the last boat of salvation but it is divided against itself. Churches are worshiping money and pastors but not God. It is sex for marks in the universities. It is sex for acceptance of passage of bills in the National Assembly. It is now an offence to be honest and patriotic in Nigeria. If President Talon of Benin Republic makes Benin Republic, especially Agongue, the CCC route, a new world tourist centre, who is to blame? Who is to be blamed if the already approved Celestial International University is relocated from Imeko to Benin Republic? Nigerians should learn how to worship God with common sense.