Inside Nigeria
Leadership Crisis: TB Joshua’s Family Drags Synagogue Church Officials to EFCC
The family of the late TB Joshua, founder of The Synagogue Church of All Nations, SCOAN has dragged some members of the church to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC as leadership crisis continues to rock the church.
According to report, the widow of the late televangelist, Evelyn and her group said they have dragged the officials to EFCC over alleged misappropriation of funds.
Amid the leadership tussle, Evelyn initiated a move to force her way back into the church’s leadership after she secured a court injunction returning her back to SCOAN’s Board of Trustees, BoT.
The crisis is linked to the inability of the late Prophet to lay down a clear line of succession before his demise.
According to Daily Post, TB Joshua’s death led to a leadership limbo between his wife and some of his disciples, who felt she was not qualified to lead SCOAN.
During the lifetime of the world-renowned preacher, T.B Joshua kept his wife and family away from the public eye and the politics in the church. He removed Evelyn from SCOAN’s Board of Trustee, BoT. She was also not very visible in the church activities.
While Mrs Evelyn Joshua was not visible, Prophet Racine, Prophet Joseph, and Evangelist Chris mostly stood in for T.B Joshua before his demise.
The leadership limbo has degenerated to a point where Joshua’s disciples and prophets were attacked and harassed by the board loyal to Evelyn.
Over the weekend, some of T.B Joshua’s disciples were evicted from their official residence in SCOAN, while others were held hostage in their rooms and their phones forcefully retrieved from them.
Justice Tijjani Ringim of the Lagos Federal High Court had ordered the appointment of Mrs Evelyn as a trustee of SCOAN in line with the church’s Constitution, which prescribes a minimum of three trustees for the church.
Mrs Evelyn’s appointment is said to be contrary to the action of her late husband who allegedly removed her from the board before his death.
In an attempt to lay the succession tussle to rest, SCOAN confirmed Evelyn as the new leader of the church over the weekend.
The church’s legal team also dismissed claims that Evelyn-led leadership harassed some workers and disciples of the late Prophet.
In a statement, sighted by Daily Post, James Akhigbe, the Head of SCOAN legal Department, said some workers and disciples of the church are being audited over financial misappropriation shortly after T. B Joshua’s death.
Akhigbe, however, insisted that those affected are not subjected to any form of victimization, adding that the audit process was being carried out objectively under a regular and absolutely normal environment without any harassment.