*Petitions Oyedepo

Pastors of Delta State Living Faith Church, a k.a Winners Chapel, are locked in legal battle as the State and Uti branch Pastors Folorunsho Yinka and Emmanuel Nwachukwu respectively have been dragged before the Effurun High Court by Edewor Egedegbe, a Pastoral Assistant and Administrator in charge of security at Uti church, seeking N50 million as damages over allegation of defamation of character.

In the case slated for hearing on March 24, 2020, Egedegbe is seeking among other prayers, an order of the court to compel the defendants to prove beyond reasonable doubt the allegations of corruption against him; prove that he petitioned the police to arrest Mrs. Brume and a proof that he forged security signal approval from the Inspector General of Police, an authority, which assigned mobile policemen to the church on guard.

In the absence of legal proof by the defendants, Egedegbe through his Counsel, Omemiroro Ogedegbe, of Ogedegbe and Ogedegbe Chambers, is demanding the sum of N50m in damages from both defendants; the order of court to tender unreserved apology to the claimant, in the same manner, the defendants caused the announcement in the Living Faith Church, Uti for three consecutive Sunday services and that the suspension of the claimant be withdrawn as same be declared null and void.

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Thereafter, a meeting of over 500 members of the church, according to Egedegbe, in his statement of claims to the court in suit number EHC/200/2019 dated November 18, 2019 was headed by the state Pastor Folorunsho, who stated that Egedegbe had been suspended for financial improprieties and sundry offences, including writing a petition to the police that culminated in the arrest of his successor’s wife – Mrs. Brume and forging police signal.

However, in their statement of defence on oath, the duo claimed that the suspension of Pastor Egedegbe followed due process as the State Pastor only obeyed the instruction from the headquarters of the Church as against alleged malicious action as they denied addressing a crowd of 500 people including church elders maligning Egedegbe.

In his reaction during a telephone interview with our correspondent, Pastor Nwachukwu said he had no authority to speak to journalists on the issue saying only the State Pastor, Folorunsho has the mandate to speak while Pastor Folorunsho till the time of filling this report refused to pick his calls and did not respond to text messages sent to him on the matter.

Trouble started for the trio, according to court records, when Egedegbe challenged Pastor Nwachukwu of Uti church at one of the meetings of the branch elders over sundry issues, which include the opaque management of the church.

On account of Egedegbe’s stance that the Pastor should do the right things as spelt out by the ‘Mandate’, which serves as operational law book, he was allegedly sacked from the leadership of the security unit, which he had led for years under successive pastors.

Also suspended by the leadership of Nwachukwu was Deaconess Joy Egedegbe, whose crime was being the wife of a man involved in the litigation with pastors.

Egedegbe, who has also written a petition to Bishop David Oyedepo, General Overseer of the Church

Worldwide, listed what he called gross abuse of office by his Pastor and calling him to intervene in the matter an action, which angered Nwachukwu and the State Pastor.

They allegedly accused the former head of security of skipping protocol by petitioning the Bishop and must be punished.

Vanguard Nigeria News