Pastor George Adjeman, others can use ‘Winners Chapel’ for their breakaway group- Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has set aside an order by the Court of Appeal that restrained Pastor George Adjeman and others from using the name Winners Chapel for their breakaway group.

This thus implies that contrary to what the Court of Appeal ordered, the name Winners Chapel is not exclusively associated with the Living Faith World Outreach Centre as such can be used by George Adjeman and his Ghana group.

Court of Appeal

In November 2020, the Court of Appeal among others, ordered the Registrar Generals Department to delete the name ‘Winners Chapel’ from the register of companies.

Furthermore, the court ordered Pastor George Adjeman to render an account of his stewardship of the Winners Chapel to the Living Faith World Outreach Centre and the World Mission Agency based in Nigeria and pay all amounts due with appropriate interest.

Supreme Court

However, in the judgment of the apex court presided over by Pwamang(JSC), the appeal against the decision of the Court of Appeal was granted in part.

First of all, the court set aside, the order directed at the Registrar General’s Department to remove the name Winners Chapel from the Registrar of Companies.

Secondly, the order that Winners Chapel should not be used by George Adjeman and others because it belonged exclusively to the Living Faith World Outreach Centre was set aside.

Further, the order for Pastor George Adjeman to render an account to Living Faith World Outreach Centre and pay interest at the prevailing rate was also varied by the apex court.

On the other hand, the Supreme Court upheld the following orders as made by the Court of Appeal;

Firstly, the  Living Faith World Outreach Centre recovers possession of all that piece and parcel of land situated at Winners Chapel No.16 Otublohum Road, Industrial, Area.

Secondly, the court upheld the grant of  H/No. 5, situated at Arko Adjei Street adjacent to Miklin Hotel, East Legon, Accra to the plaintiffs.

Additionally, Pastor George Adjeman and the group were restrained from disturbing the Plaintiffs’ quiet enjoyment of their properties, places, and items of worship.

Finally, the order for the Registrar General to delete the names of all the defendants as directors and/or subscribers to the Regulations of 1 and 2 Plaintiffs.

Background

Pastor Adjeman around whom the original suit and appeal revolve, was first employed in Nigeria as Pastor in the Winners Chapel of Nigeria. He was posted from Nigeria to Ghana in 1998 as pastor of the Winners Chapel of Ghana.  He returned to Nigeria in 1999 and was reposted to Ghana in 2002.

In 2004 however, he was required to return to Nigeria again. This time, he resisted his transfer back to Nigeria. After refusing the said transfer, he took control of Winners Chapel in Ghana. This broke up the existing relationship with the Nigeria Branch of the Church.

He then decided that the Winners Chapel Church which had a strong connection with a similar church established in the Federal Republic of Nigeria had severed relations with the church in Nigeria.  A suit was then instituted at the High Court against George Adjeman and 14 others.

High Court

The effect of the High Court’s orders was that Pastor Adjeman and his followers were allowed to carry on their church activities on the premises of the Living Faith World Outreach Centre and World Mission Agency using the very name, “Winners Chapel” and its properties.  Dissatisfied with this judgment the Plaintiff appealed against the same.