Ghana Appeal Court renders judgement in favour of Oyedepo's Winners Chapel against former employee, Bishop Adjeman

After over 16 years rebellion from Ghanaian born Bishop George Adjeman formerly of the Living Faith Church Worldwide aka Winners Chapel Internat

After over 16 years rebellion from Ghanaian born Bishop George Adjeman formerly of the Living Faith Church Worldwide aka Winners Chapel International, judgement has been delivered by the Ghana Court of Appeal in favour of the Winners Chapel founded and led by Bishop David Oyedepo.

According to the Judgment delivered on 30th November 2020, all properties in possession of Winners Chapel, (led by Bishop Adjeman) Ghana, are to be returned to the Church (Oyedepo led Winners Chapel International-WCI).

The judgement also includes WCI having exclusive use of the name, Winners Chapel. Additionally, the Registrar General is to delete Adjeman’s name from the Register of Companies while Adjeman is to account to WCI for the use of its properties from 2004 to date and pay any amount due WCI with interest.

The summary of the judgment and the consequential reliefs granted are:

1. The judgment of the trial high court is reversed.

2. All properties acquired or funded by the Church a.k.a. Winners Chapel International (1st and 2nd Plaintiffs) are the Church’s bona fide properties.

3. The Church is entitled to recover its properties at East Legon, No. 16 Otublohum Road, Industrial Area, all places of worship and items of worship of the Church occupied by Adjeman and Winners Chapel Ghana.

4. The Registrar General is to delete the names of Adjeman and the Defendants from its records as directors and subscribers of Winners Chapel and restore the names of the Church and its directors and subscribers in their stead.

5. Adjeman is to render an account of his stewardship to the Church from 16/01/2004 to date and pay any moneys due the Church with interest at the prevailing commercial bank interest rate.

6. The Church is entitled to the exclusive use of the name “Winners’ Chapel and Adjeman and the other Defendants are injuncted in perpetuity from using the name.

Adjeman who pastored the Kaduna branch of Winners Chapel was ordained bishop by Oyedepo and then transferred back to his home country Ghana in 2002, to head Winners Chapel there which consisted of 14 churches spread across Ghana. Adjeman later re-registered the church in his own name and seceded.

Adjeman claimed that when he was transferred back to Ghana, he met the church badly run and when authorities in Ghana called for churches to be registered as companies, he re-registered the church in his own name and excluded the names of all the Nigerian trustees without informing the Nigerian church of the new regulatory development nor asking for their assent

It was obvious Adjeman wanted financial independence from Nigeria at some point. The Ghana church had kicked against the practice of money being transferred to Nigeria as is the custom. Usually money is remitted from all branches of the world to Nigeria, to be used for projects then after, certain percentages would be returned to the branches while the headquarters keeps the rest. The Ghanaian church claimed that Winners Chapel isn’t a limited liability and should not transfer money to Nigeria only to later receive some percentages of it.

Adjeman would be later transferred to Ibadan, Oyo State but he rejected the transfer and notified church members that he was been transferred because of his refusal to remit money to Nigeria. Some members cheered Adjeman on and encouraged him to disregard the transfer. Once Adjeman refused to honor his transfer to Ibadan, he got sacked by the Nigerian headquarters. He chose to remain in Ghana where he completed his secession plan.

Following the attempt at secession, the Ghanaian Pentecostal Fellowship ordered Adjeman to vacate the Winners Chapel premises. The argument of GPF stemmed from the fact that Winners Chapel Ghana was built with seed funding from the Nigerian church and therefore it should be returned to the mother church in Nigeria.

While attempts where being made to resolve the crisis of ownership, two factions where created. The Oyedepo faction (now referred to as Winners Chapel Intl, Ghana) and the Adjeman’s faction referred to as Winners Chapel Ghana. Both factions where unaware that the battle they had just began was going to last for the next 16 years in the Ghanaian judicial system.

Once the Adjeman faction retained the church premises in 2004, the Oyedepo faction secured another space not too far away where they began worshipping as Winners Chapel International and began the process of retrieving the rightful use of the name, Winners Chapel.

As the crisis metarmophosed, the GPF equally admonished Oyedepo to settle Adjeman so he can go and start his own ministry. Oyedepo initially disagreed because according to him, it would be tantamount to a bribe. The GPF however encouraged him to see it as a way of setting up a son. To settle the problem, Adjeman made a demand that he be paid $50,000 as severance, along with the church mission house and a car.

Oyedepo vehemently opposed this but he was persuaded to see Adjeman as a son and not a rebel and that he should see the money given to Adjeman as a parting gift to a son. Oyedepo, after due consultation with church elders, was said to have agreed to approve $100,000 but without a car and a house. This didn’t go down well with Adjeman and he decided to take over the church for himself.

In 2010, Adjeman feeling remorseful visited Bishop Oyedepo. There, Oyedepo reportedly agreed to let Adjeman have all the properties but should drop the “Winners Chapel” tag from his church name which was the root of contention. Adjeman agreed to drop the name and even church properties. But Adjeman changed his mind as soon as he got back to Ghana.

In 2017, the Ghanaian court dismissed the lawsuit by Winners Chapel Intl (Oyedepo’s faction). According to the court, Winners Chapel Ghana is a registered and recognized church in Ghana as it was duly registered by Adjeman. However, properties acquired between 1996 and 2002 must be valued and half returned in cash value to Oyedepo’s faction. However judgment was not given as regards the name of the church.

But today, judgement has been served in favour of Winners Chapel International Ghana. Despite the unfortunate split, Oyedepo faction now has a network of 150 churches in Ghana and is about getting its own university. However Winners Chapel Ghana led by Adjeman plunged from 14,000 members as at the time of secession to below 5,000 members today.