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The suit seeking to restrain the resumption of worship at the Jatutu Memorial Cathedral belonging to the United Methodist Church Nigeria ,UMCN, has been struck out by Upper Area Court in Jalingo. Church activities have now commenced in full.
For more than fourteen years, the doors of Jatutu Memorial Cathedral stood shut, its pews gathering dust, its altar quiet, and its towering presence in Jalingo, Taraba state, serving as a daily reminder of a deepening division within the Methodist fold.
This week, that silence, as noticed by our reporter in the state, was broken not by hymns or organ chords but by the decisive gavel the court in Jalingo.
In a ruling that could reshape the religious landscape of Taraba State’s capital, the court struck out a suit seeking to restrain the resumption of worship at the cathedral belonging to the United Methodist Church Nigeria ,UMCN.
The suit was filed by Reverend Philip Audu on behalf of the Global Methodist Church Nigeria, GMCN, in a move aimed at halting church activities following a state government directive ordering the reopening of the cathedral after reconciliation efforts between disputing factions.
Listed as lead defendant was Bishop Ande Emmanuel, who doubles as the Bishop of UMC Nigeria and the Districts of Senegal and Cameroon, alongside five other UMC Nigeria pastors.
But inside the courtroom, the case quickly turned on a technical but decisive question of jurisdiction.
Counsel to UMCN, Ibrahim Effiong, challenged the competence of the suit, arguing that the plaintiff lacked locus standi the legal standing to sue in a personal capacity on behalf of an institution. He further described the filing as an abuse of court process.
Presiding Judge Barkindo Chiroma agreed.
In a ruling that drew visible relief from UMCN supporters, the court held that:
The plaintiff lacked legal standing.
The matter constituted an abuse of court process.
The case was struck out. An earlier interim order restraining worship was set aside. And the complainant was ordered to pay One Million Naira in costs.
“It is not my intention to be in court; my work is in the church,” Bishop Ande Emmanuel told journalists shortly after the ruling. “But my brethre have chosen to bring me here, despite my insistence to resolve these things amicably.”
His tone was conciliatory rather than triumphant. The Bishop emphasized that UMC Nigeria seeks dialogue, not prolonged litigation, urging members to remain peaceful and law-abiding.
Chancellor of UMC Nigeria, Benjamin Panya, described the judgment as both relief and reassurance.
“The judiciary remains the hope of the ordinary citizen,” he said, framing the ruling as an affirmation of institutional justice.
Yet even as UMCN leaders celebrated, the dispute showed no signs of fading.
The GMCN swiftly rejected the decision and vowed to challenge it at the Court of Appeal.
Speaking at a press conference shortly after the judgment, GMCN Bishop Rev. John Pena, represented by Bazel Yoila, Conference Superintendent of the Southern Nigeria Annual Conference, described the ruling as unjust.
The leadership called on state and federal authorities to take interest in what they termed an injustice against their church.
Despite the sharp rhetoric, GMCN leaders urged their members to remain calm and law-abiding while pursuing appellate review.
The lawsuit, as noticed by DAILY POST, was triggered by a Taraba State Government directive ordering the reopening of the cathedral after reconciliation efforts between the two factions.
The Jatutu Memorial Cathedral had been closed for over fourteen years following escalating tensions over ownership and control, a conflict that mirrored broader denominational realignments within global Methodism.
For residents of Jalingo, the cathedral’s prolonged closure became symbolic: a house of worship caught in legal and theological crosscurrents.
Court orders re-opening of Jalingo church after 14 years of shutdown
