The High Court of Rivers State, sitting at the Port Harcourt Division and presided over by Honourable Justice E. Thompson in suit number PHC/797/2024, has struck out a case filed by a group of persons praying to take over certain properties belonging to a spiritual organisation.
The court described the request as incompetent.
The group of persons is presently challenging the authority and leadership of the Brotherhood of the Cross and Star, headquartered in Calabar and founded by its spiritual leader, Olumba Olumba Obu.
The group had approached the High Court seeking enforcement of their fundamental rights against Olumba Obu by way of an originating summons.
The applicants filed the matter sometime in June 2023 and sought the enforcement of their fundamental rights to worship at and own Brotherhood of the Cross and Star worship centres located at Ogunabali Bethel, Ekwe Street Bethel, 175 Ikwere Road Bethel, and Akpajo Bethel, all in Rivers State.
Counsel to the applicants, E. E. Obomanu Esq., filed the case, naming Bishop Rowland Olumba Obu, Bishop Emmanuel Ogwutum, the Inspector General of Police, and the Commissioner of Police, Rivers State, as the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Respondents, respectively.
Delivering the judgment on Tuesday, Justice Thompson held that the action initiated by the applicants was incompetent and lacked merit.
The court explained that the lead counsel for the applicants, E. Obomanu, had initiated the case by way of an originating summons rather than a writ of summons, thereby attempting to mislead the court into believing that the applicants’ human rights were infringed upon.
The court stated that the issue in contention was the ownership of the various places of worship and not the infringement of fundamental human rights.
The lead counsel for the Brotherhood of the Cross and Star, C. U. Amadike Esq., and the deputy legal lead for the respondents, Justice Ahiakwo, expressed gratitude to the Almighty God for the judgment, affirming that the leadership of the organization is lawful.
Ahiakwo stated that the efforts of the renegades to tarnish the divine image of the organization would continue to be in vain.
The administrator of the spiritual organisation in Rivers State, Archbishop Emmanuel Ogwutum, said the judiciary should always remain the last resort for hope.
After Justice Thompson delivered his judgment, the applicants’ lawyer, Obomanu, thanked the judge for not awarding punitive costs against his clients.
“We want to thank the court for not awarding any costs against the applicants,” he said.
It would be recalled that the court had earlier struck out a similar matter handled by Obomanu for being incompetent and not in compliance with the court’s proceedings.