Court dismisses N2bn lawsuit against David Oyedepo

By Osagie Alonge

An Osun State High Court ruling in Ota on Thursday, July 12, 2012, dismissed the N2bn lawsuit brought against Bishop David Oyedepo.

The presiding judge, Justice Mobolaji Ojo is reported to have dismissed the suit filed in by Lagos based lawyer Robert Igbinedion because it ‘lacked in merit’ adding that the court could not act on ‘ghost victims’.

Justice Ojo also instructed Igbinedion to pay the sum N20,000 to Bishop Oyedepo.

In his ruling, Justice Ojo said that Mr Igbinedion, in his applications, did not claim to have attended the church service in which the young lady was slapped, Premium Times reports.

Also, the applicant did not claim that he was told by someone who attended the service or state the date the incident happened.

‘There must be an allegation by the victim whose right was violated’, said Justice Ojo.

‘It is such a person that has the right of action. My respectful opinion is that where the course of action is exercised by a person other than the victim. It follows that in all cases, the owner of the identity must be available to the court. He must not be amorphous. Who is Miss Justice? How is she? The court must be able to ascertain and not be left to speculate on the identity’, she added

The judge also struck out the applicant’s prayer to the court to award N2billion against Oyedepo.

‘If I may ask, if this action succeeds, who is the beneficiary’, Justice Ojo asked.

Mr Igbinedion has asked the court to grant him all his reliefs since the respondents, in denying that the young lady was slapped, had failed to help the court arrive at justice.

‘The respondents rather chose to lay their defence on all imaginable legal technicalities without attacking or denying the several damaging allegations’, said Mr Igbinedion.

The founder of the Living Faith Church International otherwise called Winners Chapel was dragged to court a few months ago for allegedly slapping a young girl during a church service in 2011.