Archbishop of the African Church, Rev. Julius Osayande Abbe, has urged the Federal High Court to dismiss a suit by the Lay President, Olubukunola Okunowo.

The plaintiff seeks to restrain Abbe from further acting as the Primate over alleged discrepancies in his Master’s Degree certificate.

Okunowo, a priest in the church who holds the position of reverend, sued Abbe and the Incorporated Trustees of the African Church, of which he is also a member.

But, Abbe, in his statement of defence, told the court that contrary to Okunowo’s allegations, the Lagos State University (LASU) authenticated his Master’s degree certificate and “determined that the matter be foreclosed once and for all”.

He said the authentication was the basis for a motion that was moved and unanimously approved declaring him eligible to vie for the position of Primate after he fully satisfied the Screening Committee’s requirements.
The Primate denied any attempt to change or falsify documents relating to his qualification.

According to Abbe, LASU stated that he was a post-graduate student in the 1999/2000 academic session, while the transcript “strangely” stated that he was a post-graduate in the 2000/2001 academic session.

LASU had clarified that the effective date a certificate bears will be the date the Senate actually sat, considered and approved the result, notwithstanding the session a person graduated.

The incorporated trustees of the church, in its statement of defence, also informed the court that Abbe completed his programme in LASU in the 1999/2000 session.

On the claimant’s allegation of two conflicting Master’s degrees, the second defendant pleaded LASU’s letters in court, in which it clarified that there was a lack of diligence on the part of the administrative staff (Secretary, Post Graduate School).

The Primate averred that the guidelines provided in Section 105 of the Constitution of the African Church 2014 were adhered to strictly and that neither the executive committee nor the general committee sidestepped or suspended any of its provisions.
Abbe told the court that he holds all necessary certifications and qualifications required by the Constitution of the African Church for the position of Primate.

He averred that any alleged discrepancy or errors regarding his qualifications were addressed and resolved by LASU.

The Primate urged the court to dismiss the suit “for being frivolous, malicious, baseless, vexatious and amounting to an abuse of judicial process”.

The case has been fixed for hearing on May 5.

Culled The Nation