A Lagos State High Court has ordered the writer/publisher of Our Daily Manna, Rev Chris Kwakpovwe and the Registered Trustees of the Chapel of Liberty Church to pay a lawyer, Tamara Egbedi, N9, 454,000, for negligence.
According to TheNation, Egbedi had gone to court after she lost seven teeth and suffered other injuries when she fell into an uncovered concrete gutter running in between the seats during an anointing service organised by Kwakpovwe at the National Stadium in Lagos in 2010.
Delivering judgement in suit no. LD/359/2011, Justice SBA Candide Johnson said that from the evidence adduced by the parties, it was clear that Ms. Tamara suffered injuries at the venue while attending the crusade.
“It is difficult not to observe that for the Defendants who put themselves forward as spiritual shepherds of their sheep that they appear to have demonstrated scant care and concern for victims of their January 2010 spiritual crusade and have likewise by the letter of their lawyers (Exhibit F) dared this Claimant to go to Court, the Defendants appear to have elected carnal warfare over spiritual warfare thus leaving it to the Courts of Law to intervene,” he said.
Continuing, the judge said:
“It is virtually ridiculous for Rev. Dr. Chris E. Kwakpovwe to invite the general public and the Claimant to a programme which they expected to and which “recorded a huge attendance” and then without any remorse or conscience, argue that they only rented space at the National Stadium so he and his religious ministry owed no duty of care or concern for the welfare and safety of the guests they had invited to their own spiritual “party” or event organized by their church.
It is this type of reckless impunity and consciencelessness that makes many people complain about callousness and wickedness in Nigeria.”
She said she informed Rev. Kwakpovwe at the end of the service. She said the defendants denied liability and insinuated that her threat to go to court smacked of gold digging and expressed readiness to “meet you in court.”
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