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The edition that led to the litigation
By our reporter
The publisher of an Abuja-based Christian publication, Exploits, Mr. Chris Agada, has dragged the Founder/Presiding Bishop of FaithHill Prophetic Assembly worldwide, Airport Road, Abuja; Archbishop Emmanuel Musa Jatau as well as his spiritual son, the Resident Pastor of the Makurdi branch of the church; Bishop Timothy Kume, to court over debt and intimidation.
In a summons filed on August 17, 2022 by his counsel, Barrister Castro Eru of the Law Consult, Asokoro, Abuja before the District Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Holden at Karu, Abuja; the Kogi State-born publisher is requesting that the court should order the defendants to pay him the money they are owing him as well as other damages
According to the summons, the publisher said, “Sometimes in 2018, Bishop Jatau asked me to go to Makurdi to have an interview with his spiritual son, Bishop Timothy Kume. I agreed to embark on the assignment because Bishop Jatau was a man I had so much respect for him.”
He added that, “I was in his office when he (Bishop Jatau) puts a call across to the pastor informing him that he had asked me to go and interview him. It was right there in his office that the date of the interview was arranged.”
According to the publisher, on getting to Makurdi, Bishop Kume, spoke during the interview how God revealed to him that the Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, who was then seeking re-election for the second term in the office, would not win. He said that God had revealed to him that Ortom can’t win his second term thus, he is gone!
The Exploits boss said, to his surprise, after three or four days that the interview was conducted and printing had already commenced in the press, the Makurdi pastor called him that he had settled with the Benue State governor, therefore, didn’t want that aspect of the interview to come out anymore. The publisher agreed but on the condition that since printing had commenced, he should pay for the cost of materials wasted and inconveniences. “After reaching the man that connected us together – Bishop Jatau, we settled that Bishop Kume should pay N500,000 as a compensation for materials wasted and inconveniences. He also to pay N350,000 for the advert of his church, placed in the publication totally N850,000.
The Exploits helmsman said, after the defendants paid N200,000 in two installments, they refused to pay the other balance despite their several letters to them to honour the gentlemen’s agreement. Agada added that, instead of the two acclaimed men of God to do the needful, they resorted to hide-and-seek-game.
He said, the latest move by the defendants that resorted to the legal tussle was when they started using security agencies to harass and intimidate him for requesting for the payment of the money, through series of letters sent to them by his lawyers.
According to the publisher, “When it then became clear to me that the defendants were not ready to do the needful nearly 4 years, coupled with their latest trick to use the security agencies to harass and intimidate me, aimed at scaring me to leave the money for them, I had to drag them to court.”
“The plaintiff avers that he has shown sufficient understanding with the Defendants but same has not been reciprocated by the Defenders,” his counsel said in the summons.
The publisher through his counsel, asked the court to order the defenders to pay;
- The sum of N300,000 being the balance of the N500,000.
- N350,000 being the sum of the advert placed in the publication.
- Orders the defendants to pay the sum of N1m to the plaintiff as exemplary damages.
- Awarding the sum of N2m as general damages against the defendants
- Ten (10) per cent interest of the judgment sum until the money is paid.
- Cost of the suit at N200,000
The hearing of the case is scheduled for November 2, 2022.
