EXCLUSIVE:
THE RISE AND FALL OF REBELLION IN WINNERS CHAPEL INTERNATIONAL ACCRA GHANA
By Daniel Breakforth
“When a child in the womb delays in coming out, a surgical operation is needed to cut the umbilical cord, we are about doing a surgical operation”…..
Bishop George Adjeman
4th June 2004
For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft and stubbornness as iniquity and idolatry…
1 Samuel 15:23
“I have been privileged to be with God’s Servant, Bishop Oyedepo while he prays. He takes his seat with a pen and note and in between praying, he writes…he doesn’t just ‘krondolo krondolo’ the Speaker said on the tape playing in our studio at Yaba College of Technology in 1997. My friend and classmate, Christopher had brought the tape to class. I asked to know who this particular pastor was and he told me ‘Pastor George Adjeman, Resident Pastor, Living Faith Church, Area 1 in Abuja, the Church where his older brother attends.
That was my first time of hearing about Pastor George Adjeman, a very senior pastor in the Living Faith World Outreach Centre from Ghana.
Pastor George Adjeman featured prominently at Shiloh 1999 and the dedication of Faith Tabernacle.
It was on the last day of Shiloh 1999 that Bishop Oyedepo announced 7 ‘Bishop elects’ namely:
1. Bishop Elect George Adjeman
2. Bishop Elect Dayo Olutayo (now Good Tidings)
3. Bishop Elect Joe Ebhomien (now Pacesetters)
4. Bishop Elect Dickson Olorunda (Warri)
5. Bishop Elect Mike Afolabi (of blessed memory)
6. Bishop Elect Bolu Martins (Treasured Land)
7. Bishop Elect Thomas Aremu (Vice President Home Missions Living Faith Church)
It was said that George Adjeman had worked very hard in about 3-4 years in Port Harcourt. Notably, he had moved the Port Harcourt Church headquarters from 38 Ikwerre Road to D’Line. He taught in very vibrant breakthrough seminars which the Living Faith Church was known for, he led insightful prayer and fasting programs…his wife also did a very good job with the WOFBI (Word of Faith Bible Institute) class for teenagers
Infact when Bishop (now Pastor) Dayo Olutayo began to make moves to leave the Winners Chapel, it was suggested by some that Olutayo felt shortchanged and didn’t get favorable postings like George Adjeman.
Sometime in 1996, I told my uncle who had invited me to attend Church in Barnawa-Sir, this Church is going to become very big soon. This Garden of Faith will soon be very small, we need much bigger church buildings. He laughed and said-I should introduce you to Bishop Oyedepo…As the Church grew, especially as Faith Tabernacle dedication was in sight, there were plans for growth. One of the plans was the creation of Bishoprics and the consecration of bishops.
Before the consecration of the bishops, it was opined that Pastor George Adjeman was not to be consecrated but back then, the annual Pastors meeting of the LFC in Nigeria was always held in Garden of Faith, Kaduna and on such occasions mid-week service was usually put on hold. I first experienced this also in 1996.
On one of those meetings in 1999, there was a seeming disagreement between Junior pastors and senior pastors (leadership) including the 2 Bishops, Presiding Bishop-David Oyedepo and the Executive Vice President-David Abioye as to why Adjeman was not amongst the soon to be nominated Elects while Olutayo, the Brother in Law of the Presiding Bishop was. At inception of the ministry, Olutayo had not really been a consistent but had grown over time to become the Resident Pastor in Abuja and succeeding Dele Bamgboye who was then sent to Ghana after successfully building LFC Durumi Church within 6 months in 1999.
Eventually, the Presiding Bishop was prevailed upon and that was how Adjeman was eventually nominated and later consecrated.
It was in recognition of Adjeman’s dedication and hardwork among others that he was consecrated as the only non-Nigerian among others as a Bishop on 7 November 1999. Furthermore, Living Faith Church decided to kickstart the indigenization program to enable nationals of various countries lead Living Faith Churches in their respective nations. As part of steps to accomplish this, George Adjeman was sent as Bishop to the largest Winners Chapel Base outside Nigeria -Accra, Ghana. It was then that Bishop Adjeman embarked on a rebellious journey of no -return.
But what really happened?
You the reader will note that we have been interchanging the name Living Faith Church with Winners Chapel. This needs to be cleared as this played a role in what was to happen later.
As early as October 1982, David Oyedepo received the name ‘Living Faith’ as he often recounts. The Church arm of the Commission was thus initially known as ‘Living Faith World Outreach Centre’. By 1987, the first 5 churches spread out and became Living Faith World Outreach Centres. On purchase of the 13 acre property in Barnawa in 1989, the lovely acreage was uniquely called ‘Garden of Faith’. Shortly afterwards, the Lagos invasion Mandate was given and on setting foot in Lagos, the Living Faith World Outreach Centre in Lagos was prophesied as ‘Winners’ Chapel’. Another popular Church in Lagos back then was the Pastor Tunde Joda led ‘Christ Chapel’. Soon enough however, the Winners Chapel after 3 years became an ‘instant’ hit and it immediately had a bandwagon effect on other Living Faith Churches. By the time Archbishop Benson Idahosa arrived for the dedication of the beautiful new 3000 capacity facility with an 8 floor tower culminating in a L shape, it was a sight to behold. I remember attending a mass wedding of 35 couples in December 1996 with my parents and how my Dad kept marveling at the beautiful ‘Winners Chapel’ facility at Raji Oba. At that time, George Adjeman was assisting in Lagos as Resident Pastor.
Till Today in Kaduna State, the achaba (motorbike) man still responds better to ‘Libing Pâté’ (Living Faith) or ‘Garden of Faith’ than to ‘Winners’ Chapel’.
So much for the explanation.
Now the full story beginning with the background
Background
Bishop Adjeman a Ghanian was a protege of Oyedepo in Kaduna right from his days in Kaduna. He is a chartered accountant and was ordained as Bishop by same Oyedepo on 9th November 1999 at Garden of Faith, Barnawa, Kaduna after the dedication of Faith Tabernacle along with 6 other Bishops earlier mentioned. Notably, Thomas Aremu is the only one still with the Liberation Commission while others like Bolu Martins, Joe Ebhohimien (Secretary at the Power House) and Dayo Olutayo (brother in law who also left LFC in 2004) all still have healthy relationships with Living Faith Church and have all attended Shiloh in the recent past as guests of Bishop Oyedepo.
Bishop Adjeman had served variously in Abuja, Port Harcourt as well as Raji Oba, Lagos among other places of assignment. He held sway in those days whenever Bishop David Oyedepo was on his mission trips and was considered a faithful servant, the only non-Nigerian consecrated Bishop in the history of the Living Faith Church Worldwide.
Pastor Adjeman became the residential Pastor of Winners Chapel Raji Oba Lagos in 2001 as a Bishop. He taught in WOFBI 2001 Leadership Development class on subjects like mentorship and leadership.
He explained how the deep calleth unto the deep while giving example of himself and how he was influenced by Bishop Oyedepo. He shared the story of how he was on his way to the USA and stopped over in Lagos and that he was transformed by the teaching of his master Bishop Oyedepo.
Three years prior to his assignment to Ghana, Faith Tabernacle was under construction in Canaanland. The Church headquarters had appeared for the first time on a global list as the 13th largest single church in the world. LFC was a blossoming church and in 1998/1999, churches like Deeper Life and MFM in Nigeria decided to establish camps like the older RCCG to enable the growth in church operations. Coincidentally, LFC was not left out and infact went a step ahead to build the largest church auditorium on the earth at the time-Faith Tabernacle. Other churches just listed built camps but retained their previous headquarters for Sunday services -for example-RCCG Throne of Grace, Ebute Meta, Deeper Life, Gbagada and MFM, Olasimbo Oke, Yaba. LFC however closed services within Lagos and in what was considered a suicidal move, relocated about 25km out of town to Ota and towards the Nigeria-Benin border. The writer remembers vividly Bishop Oyedepo announcing that seed money for the Faith Tabernacle project was N120 million and it got exhausted within weeks. However more funds came in and in one of the services before dedication of Faith Tabernacle, Bishop Oyedepo reeled out names of all nations that had so far been involved in the Canaanland project. Notably he mentioned Ghana, the USA and UK among others and also stated the amount each had given. Basically, there was money from other churches outside Nigeria in the construction of Faith Tabernacle. Apart from these, just as it is with the Vatican and the Catholic Church and many other churches globally, a dedicated sum was sent periodically as at then from all established branches towards the establishment and growth of the church with respect to projects among others and Bishop Adjeman was not unaware of all these.
In recognition of his faithfulness as well as a new indigenization policy of the Living Faith Church George Adjeman was transferred Ghana in 1996. The indigenization policy seeks to make nationals of various nations with the ‘spirit of the Commission’ lead the churches in their countries thereby becoming instrumental as arrowheads in national revival towards accomplishing the liberation mandate as delivered to Bishop Oyedepo. Going forward.. Adjeman was later recalled and then sent in 2002 to head Winners Chapel Ghana which consisted of 14 churches spread across Ghana, together with a Kingdom Heritage Model School in the same premises and mission house (Bishop’s Quarters) as his residence.
In 2003, the Ghanaian government emphasized that churches should be registered. As the representative of LFC in Ghana, it behoved on Adjeman to inform the authorities back home and to do the needful. Instead he clandestinely re-registered the church in his own name on 16th January 2004 thereby setting off a long chain of reactions that would last about 2 decades. On 4th June 2004 after series of rebellious acts, he declared independence and the drama began..
IF YOU ARE FAITHFUL IN ANOTHER MAN’S…
Summarily, In 2004 Bishop Adjeman staged a takeover of the Ghanaian branch of Winners Chapel after the Headquarters in Canaanland Ota, Nigeria attempted to transfer him to Ibadan when he refused to continue remitting the $60,000.00 monthly church income that was erstwhile remitted to the Nigerian headquarter. Remitting of Money from all branches of the world to Headquarter churches usually to fund various programs of the Church was practiced by Winners Chapel at the time as stated earlier. Earlier I have explained how I remember vividly during the building of Faith Tabernacle when amounts given by various branches and countries were mentioned by Bishop Oyedepo during thanksgiving. The practice has however ceased in Winners since 2012 when the Mandate or Church constitution was promulgated. Notably, the Ark building project which is ongoing has not required any branch church outside the headquarters at Canaanland to give to the project; however, the Catholic Church, Redeemed Christian Church of God and many others still practice this. In some churches. I will not need to state the ratio as that belongs to a more matured audience . However, after the monies have been remitted, certain percentages would be returned to the branches in some cases.
“all the pastors that went to Lagos (Canaanland) have been held and detained against their wills and I don’t know where they are…the church should rise up so that we pray for their release from those holding them in Nigeria..”
Bishop George Adjeman
4th June 2004
Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.
Ecclesiastes 8:11
AN EXCUSE FOR REBELLION?
After Bishop Adjeman revealed how much was transported to Nigeria every week to the Church, all hell was let loose in Ghana as the debate became a Nigeria versus Ghana debate. He also alleged that the funds were sometimes moved with the use of vehicle tyres. Some Ghanaians felt it was wrong for a church in Ghana to remit money to a church in Nigeria; they therefore took sides with Bishop Adjeman. Interestingly, the Church of Pentecost which is a contemporary of the Christ Apostolic Church Nigeria had also operated same method. Others however felt Adjeman was disloyal to his former boss in Nigeria and should leave the church using the right way as some of his contemporaries such as his predecessor in Raji Oba, Simeon Afolabi or First Love Assembly had done and not taking over any of the church’s properties, members or name.
Recall that the Ghanaian branch of Winners Chapel Ghana was started in 1996 with seed money from Nigeria during the African Gospel Invasion Program (A.G.I.P) and as said earlier already had 14 branches, Kingdom Heritage Model school(s) etc while Adjeman was transferred to Ghana in 2002. However Adjeman claimed that when he got back to Ghana he met the church badly run and therefore when government authorities in Ghana called for Churches to be registered as companies, Bishop Adjeman went ahead to re-register the church in his own name and excluded the names of all the Nigerian trustees without informing the Nigerian church of the new regulatory development nor asking for their assent
THE UNRIGHTEOUS MAMMON
The initial aim of Adjeman wasn’t so clear at this stage as he didn’t immediately declare ‘independence’. But what is sure is that Adjeman wanted at least financial independence from Nigeria at some point. The Ghanaian church leadership under Adjeman had kicked against the practice of money being “illegally” transferred to Nigeria. They claimed that Winners Chapel isn’t a limited liability and should not transfer money to Nigeria only to later receive some percentages of it. All this was done with the confidence that they had secretly changed the church documents and with the unscrupulous backing of some political leaders were sure that they would triumph in the event that the matter took a legal turn.
GET DOWN TO BASORUN IBADAN!
Following Adjeman’s refusal to keep remitting money to Headquarters in Nigeria he was transferred to then Ibadan Diocese with headquarters in Basorun, Oyo State. Also, Bishop Afolabi was moved to Ilorin, Bishop Bolu Martins was transferred from Kano to Owerri, Bishop Dickson Olorunda moved from Owerri to Warri and Bishop Olutayo from Abuja to Port Harcourt. It was around this time that Bishop Abioye eventually moved from Kaduna to Durumi Abuja while Bishop Aremu became the new pastor at Garden of Faith Kaduna…from Ibadan.
Bishop Adjeman rejected the Ibadan transfer and notified church members that he was being transferred because of his refusal to remit money to Nigeria. Some members cheered Adjeman on and encouraged him to disregard the transfer. On the 4th of June 2004, Bishop Adjeman got about 300 armed policemen to the Church premises in order to do his declaration. Typically they were prepared for any possible revolt by any disagreeing members especially Nigerians. After the declaration which has become the Church’s new anniversary, the Church sang the Ghanaian national anthem. According to a worshipper, that day, Nigerians in church felt like chicken beaten by rain. It was simply shocking and embarrassing.
BISHOP ABIOYE ORDERED TO GHANA
As Adjeman remained adamant, Bishop David Abioye, the Executive Vice President of the LFC was sent along with Pastor Abraham Ayelabowo, Pastor of LFC Uyo to Accra to stem the tide. Adjeman refused to see him and instead led thugs and other rebellious members to boo and lock Bishop Abioye out of the Church premises. Reports have it that some unscrupulous elements had the temerity to attempt to rough handle the senior Bishop in hierarchy in total disregard of authority and even displayed guns. Bishop Abioye consequently returned to Canaanland to report the situation he met.
Once Adjeman had refused to honor his transfer to Ibadan, Adjeman was then sacked by the Church Headquarters.
GHANA PENTECOSTAL FELLOWSHIP INTERVENES
Following the attempt at secession the Ghanaian Pentecostal Fellowship (GPF)ordered Adjeman to vacate the Winners Chapel premises. The argument of GPF stemmed from the fact that Winners Chapel Ghana was built with seed funding from Nigeria and therefore it should be returned to the mother church.
WCI AND WCG
While attempts where being made to resolve the crisis of ownership, WCI quickly moved to establish another place of worship to stop the confusion. They were now referred to in Ghana as the Oyedepo original body (WCI Ghana) and the Adjeman’s faction referred to as Winners Chapel Ghana (WCG or Winners’ Ghana). A long journey was about to begin that would last the next 19 years in the Ghanaian judicial system.
DESTROY THIS TEMPLE AND I WILL BUILD IT IN 3 DAYS
Once the Adjeman faction had retained the church premises in 2004 the WCI moved to the Ghana Trade Fair Centre. The Ghana Trade Fair Center is the largest fairground located in La in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana.
The Center lies on a 127-acre land it has shops, exhibition halls, clinics and stands. There are several pavilions, among them Pavilion A, Pavilion B and the round Africa Pavilion. During the next 3 months, the WCI were moved from pavilion to pavilion within the Trade Fair as they had to start again from scratch. It was during this period of instability that the Kenyan Church became the largest foreign mission of LFC ahead of Ghana.
Eventually, WCI secured another space not too far away from the former church where they began worshipping while the headquarter church in Nigeria tried to make Adjeman see reason before going to court in Ghana and eventually began the tussle with the renegade WCG led by Adjeman. At this time, Dele Bamgboye (now of High Flyers) and later Abraham Ojeme (now at the Summit Church) along with Ayelabowo were sent variously to Accra.
At a meeting between George Adjeman and Abraham Ojeme, Ojeme asked-Can you give just one scripture that justifies what you are doing? Adjeman had no response.
it was not just a matter of collecting properties by force. Nigerian staff of the LFC in Ghana were sent away unceremoniously out of the Church and by inference from Ghana without even transport fare.
The tabloids had a field day. The Sun Newspaper among others in Nigeria carried the news.
Pastor Ojeme was shot at by one Omane Frimpong, a church member and the police arrested and locked him up in a police station for daring to come and resolve the issue or ask him to submit.
Thugs from Bishop Adjeman were sent to Tema branch to beat whoever resisted the takeover and lock up the Church.
Much later , during a press interview, Adjeman pointed out that WCI had established a new and big church within only 3 months and used that to justify his actions.
As the Crisis metarmophosed the GPF equally admonished Oyedepo to settle Adjeman so he can go and start his own ministry. Oyedepo initially disagreed querying if that wouldn’t be tantamount to a bribe. Oyedepo’s believes he does not own the Church and as such could not give church property out as ‘settlement’. The GPF however encouraged him to see it as a way of setting up a Son.
GIVE ME $50,000, CHURCH HOUSE AND OFFICIAL CAR AND I WILL GO!
To settle the problem, Adjeman made a demand that he be paid $50,000 as severance, along with the church mission house and a car. Oyedepo vehemently opposed this but he was persuaded to see Adjeman as a son and not a rebel and that he should see the money given to Adjeman as a parting gift to a son. Bishop Oyedepo, after due consultation with his church elders, was said to have agreed to approve $100,000 but without a car or the Church Mission house. This didn’t go down well with Adjeman and he decided to help himself with the church.
THE devil BOOED AT SHILOH 2004
During Shiloh 2004, Bishop David Oyedepo requested the Ghanaian delegation to stand up. As the large numbers stood up, he asked everyone at Shiloh to mock the devil. A large boo rang out. The WCI Ghana was back on its feet.
I AM SORRY?
Seemingly feeling remorseful after 6 years, Adjeman visited Oyedepo in 2010 against the wishes of his lawyers. There, Oyedepo reportedly agreed to let Adjeman have all the properties but should drop the “Winners’ Chapel” tag from his church name which was the root of the contention. Reports have it that the apology might have been recorded. Adjeman agreed to drop the name and even church propertiea. But Adjeman changed his mind as he got back to Ghana especially as his congregation were unhappy that he took such a decision without their knowledge thereby making them look like usurpers.
HOPE DEFERRED…
13 years after the rebellion of 2004, precisely in June 2017 the Ghanian High Court dismissed the lawsuit by WCI. According to the Court, WCG is a registered and recognized church in Ghana as it was duly registered by Adjeman and therefore won the case on 28 July 2017. However properties acquired between 1996 and 2002 must be valued and half returned in cash value to WCI. However judgment was not given as regards the name of the Church. WCG was quick to make reports of the judgement available to the press and social media while WCI monitored.
WCI soon decided to appeal and made some clarifications to the members of the Church. The press report after the judgement in Accra on 5th September 2017 read ‘Winners Chapel Expresses Dissatisfaction Over Court Ruling’
WCI in reaction to the judgment , expressed dissatisfaction over the ruling by an Accra High Court pertaining to the dispute between with WCG , headed by Bishop George Adjeman.
According to WCI the court failed to resolve all the issues under contention after nearly 13 years legal battle.
WCI had battled Bishop Agyemang over the ownership of properties of Winners Chapel Ghana (WCG), a breakaway church from WCI.
WCI had argued that Bishop Agyemang whom they trained, employed and later deployed from Nigeria to head Winners Chapel International and the church’s missionary agencies in Ghana, outsmarted them, registered the church with a new name, Winners Chapel Ghana, and took over assets of his employers.
But after 13 years of battling the case in court, the Accra High Court presided over by Mr Justice K.A. Ofori-Atta, on July 28, 2017 ruled in the favour of Bishop Agyemang.
According to the court, WCI “was not duly incorporated as a legal entity and, therefore, cannot own any property, including the name “Winners Chapel.’’
The court held that WCG had been registered in accordance with the law and, therefore, had the legal backing to operate.
“On the available evidence, I am satisfied the name Winners Chapel Ghana has been duly registered for business in the country,’’ Mr Justice Ofori-Atta said.
The court was of the view that although WCI was not duly registered and, therefore, could not lawfully claim any properties being contested, it had members who contributed to the acquisition of those properties.
In that regard, it ordered that any property acquired between 1996 and 1997 when the church was established until 2004 when WCI and WCG went their separate ways be valued and shared among the two bodies.
It, however, said after the valuation and sharing of the properties, WCG should buy out those allocated to WCl, since WCG had been in possession of the properties since 2004.
Meanwhile, in a publication WCI circulated to its members on Sunday, September 3, 2017 the leadership of the church expressed some misgivings about the ruling.
“Winners Chapel’s leadership is of the view that the judgment did not resolve all the controversies presented to the court for resolution. Its lawyers have, therefore, been given instructions to take the necessary steps to ensure a full resolution of all the matters in controversy before the appropriate forum,” WCI added.
WCI in the publication further stated that, “The issue before the court were amongst others: whether or not the members of the WCG ceased to be members of Winners’ Chapel when there was a split in July 2004;
“Whether or not Bishop Adjeman and the other defendants are entitled to retain possession of Winners’Chapel and WMA’s properties and premises and whether or not Bishop Adjeman’s allegations against Bishop David Oyedepo, Winners’ Chapel and WMA justified Bishop Adjeman and his followers’ actions. Rather strangely, the court did not determine any of the above mentioned issues.”
At this point, it will be unfair and unjust not to mention one man who stood out throughout this process. A Ghanaian lawyer who saw to it that justice was done but who did not live to celebrate. We will talk about him in detail later. We also visited his home after the judgement to speak with his family about their experience during the process.
Now there was long war between the house of Saul and the house of David; but David waxed stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul waxed weaker and weaker.
2 Samuel 3:1
While the case was going on, 2 facts were made clear. First of all, it was a case of Vision against Ambition with Vision overcoming. Recall that Adjeman had used tthe excuse that the WCI had been able to set up just 3 months after the takeover of the Church facility by WCG. Note that just as it had been in 1996, it was again money sent from the headquarters in Nigeria that was used to purchase the property at Dadedan Loop.
This growth showed over the 13 years between the rebellion and high court judgement and even thereafter. Initially after the rebellion, every member of WCI was perceived in Ghana as a criminal but over time, perception changed. Men of God like Archbishop Dag Heward Mills coincidentally at the time intensified his message on loyalty. Many Pentecostal leaders like Mensah Otabil would have nothing to do with WCG and over time the ‘rebel’ Church lost steam, verve and vitality.
Interestingly, the Church names and logo remained almost the same, WCI was Living Faith Church Worldwide aka WCI Ghana while Adjeman’s group was Living Faith World Outreach Centre aka WCG
The logos also remained the same except that the WCG had a flag of Ghana 🇬🇭 imprinted on its logo.
The Kingdom Heritage Model School of WCI was taken over within the premises and renamed ‘Heritage Academy’. Also in September 2004, another body was registered by WCG to prepare for a possible eventuality in which her rebellion would fail.
Sadly, the 5000 capacity facility taken over by WCG which at a time held 3 booming services gradually reduced to one single service. Many chairs in the auditorium were packed to the side and few chairs spread out to cover space. Attendance on Sunday services reduced to about five hundred (500) signifying a 96.7% drop in Church attendance on Sunday’s and 30 people during midweek services, a 99.80% drop in attendance. On the day that CG visited in July 2022, the prayer leader was leading a prayer for Church growth and for multitudes.
AN APPEAL IS MADE
In continuation of the case, the WCI appealed. Subsequently, In November 2020, the Appeal Court in Ghana reversed the decisions of the High Court
The summary of the judgment and the consequential reliefs granted by the Appeal Court were:
1. The judgment of the trial high court is reversed.
2. All properties acquired or funded by the Church a.k.a. Winners Chapel International (1st and 2nd Plaintiffs) are the Church’s bona fide properties.
3. The Church is entitled to recover its properties at East Legon, No. 16 Otublohum Road, Industrial Area, all places of worship and items of worship of the Church occupied by Adjeman and Winners Chapel Ghana.
4. The Registrar General is to delete the names of Adjeman and the Defendants from its records as directors and subscribers of Winners Chapel and restore the names of the Church and its directors and subscribers in their stead.
5. Adjeman is to render an account of his stewardship to the Church from 16/01/2004 to date and pay any moneys due the Church with interest at the prevailing commercial bank interest rate.
6. The Church is entitled to the exclusive use of the name “Winners’ Chapel and Adjeman and the other Defendants are injuncted in perpetuity from using the name.
The case was conducted by Thaddeus Sory and Pst Nii Amassah Kotey who unfortunately passed on to glory a few days before judgment was given. Thanks be to God for crowning their efforts with success.
As expected, Bishop Adjeman appealed the case to the Supreme Court of Ghana which is the highest judicial body in Ghana.
WCI and WCG
The WCI started again in 2004 after the unfortunate split. It now has a network of over 250 churches in Ghana and is about getting its own university. However WCG led by Adjeman has plunged from 14,000 members as at the time of secession to about 500 members and in a Monday Prayer meeting attended by Church Gist in July 2022, Church Gist counted 33 in her weekly program and this included our representative from Nigeria and our Ghanaian rep.
REVISITING THE DAY OF REBELLION IN 2004
The day of secession as told by a Ghanaian Eye Witness in Church-Paul Agbai
“A lot had been going on prior to the coup de tat that day, a Wednesday… In April 2004. Prior to that day, the Pastors from WCG had gone to Lagos for annual pastors retreat of which George Adjeman himself was supposed to go but he didn’t and rather handpicked those pastors loyal to him to go. News had gone round before the arrival of the Pastors that those who went to Lagos were made to sign some undertaken against their will, but no one could ascertain this claim.
I came to church that night, driving towards the church, behind one Pastor Richard Appiah, who was next to Bishop Adjeman in seniority, himself just coming from the Lagos trip and was heading to Church that night.
Just by the gate of the Church, the head of Crowd Control Unit, (CCU), stopped him and said “Oga” has said that all the pastors who went to Lagos should not be allowed in. This Pastor Richard Appiah gave a note to the brother to go and give the Bishop that he, Richard, had come but Bishop Adjeman sent a message back that he should meet him in the house by 9pm. I was in my car, just behind Pastor Richard as all these unfolded, I was wondering and a bit confused because of all the preceding tension buildups. Well, Richard’s wife got down from the car and trekked in to take her sit with the choir I was leading then. I reversed my car abit for Richard to pull back before I could enter the church in my car.
Towards the end of the service, Bishop Adjeman stood up with a script in his hand and started…..”when a child in the womb delays in coming out, a surgical operation is needed, we are about doing a surgical operation.”
Along the lines of the script, was this statement that shocked me to my bones and marrows till date. Bishop Adjeman said that “all the pastors that went to Lagos had been held and detained against their will and he doesn’t know where they are and that the Church should rise up so that we pray for their release from those holding them in Nigeria..”
I stood up with others…but instead of praying..I was lost in wondering if this was a kind of home movie theatre or a church, I am in?.and congregation prayed like they were casting out demons in Africa…you know that scene….I was asking myself…is it not now that this man asked the pastors to meet him at a place for meeting at 9pm…but unsuspecting souls were led astray to make it look like it’s a fight between Ghana and Nigeria… 13 years down the line (2017) …no sense of remorse… Not even after he later called Bishop Oyedepo that he wanted to come to see him for restitution and he was granted audience.
In that meeting captured on Video, he told Bishop Oyedepo that he was ready to let go and Bishop told him he should just drop the name that is creating confusion and go with the properties to start his own ‘Life Assembly Church’ he jettisoned. Bishop Adjeman said, he won’t only drop name of Winners’ Chapel he is using but would drop all properties too..(…he returned to Ghana and changed his mind……..
ADJEMAN GOES TO THE SUPREME COURT
The fact that the Appeal Court judgement was not pleasing to WCG meant only one thing. WCG had no choice but to appeal otherwise everything they stood for was null and void. Quietly they went to court in what was a big setback and struggle for survival. In all these Bishop Oyedepo avoided the matter only commenting during Shiloh 2020 that he heard a case had been won just a week before Shiloh. Due to the loss of members and the need to get revenue for her court case among others, WCG did what would be considered unthinkable in a normal Living Faith Church; they began to rent out the facility for events such as burials, weddings and all the likes at commercial rates. This was possibly one of the reasons why the Court insisted on payment of rent by WCG to WCI.
In 2023, judgement was eventually given. The Supreme Court of Ghana ordered that Bishop George Adjeman who was consecrated Bishop in November 1999 should vacate the premises of Winners Chapel used by him for the last 19 years after a long drawn court case. Interestingly, the Ghanaian press was uncharacteristically quiet about the judgement while some media elements tried to twist the story of the case which lasted almost 2 decades. It was a debilitating blow to Bishop Adjeman in his own country.
The Supreme Court also varied the decision that Bishop Adjeman render an account of his stewardship to WCI from 16/1/2004 to date and pay any monies due the Church with interest at the prevailing commercial bank interest rate by reducing the rate to be paid among other decisions.
However, it set aside an order by the Court of Appeal that restrained George Adjeman and others from using the name Winners Chapel for their breakaway group. This implies that the name WCG has come to stay.
The Supreme Court upheld the following orders as made by the Court of Appeal;
Firstly, the Living Faith World Outreach Centre recovers possession of all that piece and parcel of land situated at Winners Chapel No.16 Otublohum Road, Industrial, Area.
Secondly, the court upheld the grant of H/No. 5, situated at Arko Adjei Street adjacent to Miklin Hotel, East Legon, Accra to the plaintiffs.
Additionally, George Adjeman and the group were restrained from disturbing the Plaintiffs’ quiet enjoyment of their properties, places, and items of worship.
Finally, the order for the Registrar General to delete the names of all the defendants as directors and/or subscribers to the Regulations of 1 and 2 Plaintiffs.
On the other hand, the appeal against the decision of the Court of Appeal was granted in part.
The court set aside, the order directed at the Registrar General’s Department to remove the name Winners Chapel from the Registrar of Companies.
Secondly, the order that Winners Chapel should not be used by George Adjeman and others because it belonged exclusively to the Living Faith World Outreach Centre was set aside. This implies that even though the name Winners Chapel Ghana can operate within Ghana, it will be almost impossible to operate with exactly same name in any country outside Ghana.
“When a child in the womb delays in coming out, a surgical operation is needed, we are about doing a surgical operation”…..
4 June 2004
Today, the umbilical cord is cut…
Bishop George Adjeman
17 December 2023
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Matthew 16:18
END OF PHASE ONE
The judgement of the Supreme Court in May 2023 was met with such quietness by WCI that it seemed it went unnoticed. However with close observation it was soon discovered that Winners Chapel Ghana left the Church facility in contention in December 2023. What is not known yet is how much would be paid as rent. Also it seemed that after the court judgement, WCG began to build a temporary facility to relocate to.
After announcing the departure on 17th December, the WCG didn’t go live until her Crossover Service on 31st of December 2023. In essence, the move happened between the 17th and 31st of December 2023. The new venue is outdoor, under what appears to be canopies.
About a fortnight ago, Sunday, 11th of February 2024 Bishop Adjeman encouraged the members to be happy as the present place was temporary. Church Gist posted the video of the 2 services mentioned.
The words of Bishop Adjeman himself will complete part 4 of our story. A fitting right to respond as many have requested.
END OF PHASE ONE.
As Winners Chapel, we have gone through so many…but today I’m glad to let you know that the curtains have been drawn on the phase one of Winners Chapel Ghana. As we step into our (…) place we will not be in the shadow of any other person. We will be ‘us’. Like I said sometime: ‘Today, the umbilical cord is cut. We have our liberty and our personality and our individuality’. Amen. One or two people have asked me: ‘What about the School’? The Heritage Academy. This is the position of the leadership of WCG: The structures we have here, particularly this one apart from the Administration. Church Gist. When we were building, we had the School in mind and in September 2004, Heritage Academy started, we registered a company different from Winners Chapel Ghana. Today 2023, if you look at the pupil’s roll of Heritage Academy from ECD to JHS3, there is none of the children there that were born in today’s world in 2004. None! I don’t think there is any nineteen year old child in that School. You get the point? So the children are not a part of what is happening at all, they are innocently going to their school. It just happens that their school is situated in the premises of a Church that has an issue with another organization. Why should we draw them in? When we were in court last Wednesday, this issue came up and the judges said: ‘Why are you bringing the children into this’? See! And truly from 17 May…
(Last Service before departure from WCI facility)
17th December 2023
……………………………………..
11th February 2024
(A fortnight Sunday)
Gradually, it is taking shape. Amen. We give thanks to God, we give thanks to the transition team, we give thanks to the project committee in the transition team, we give thanks to everyone and we give thanks to you. Amen. We are where we are because all of us together, we have contributed and we have brought the work of God this far. Church Gist. I came up to bless you, I came up to say: ‘Thank you’. I came up to say: That which you have done which man has not seen, God has seen and God will reward you. I came up to say: You will not miss your reward. Even though you have sown in secret, God will show you to your world. The blessing of God which makes rich, the blessing of God which brings no sorrow; may that blessing come upon you in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Hallelujah! Amen.
Just to comment on what our (…) pastor said. Eh! The office block is not ready, carpeting is part of the building. If he says it’s ready then it means I’m inviting you to the Place after this Service then come and greet me as I sit in my office (Laughing). Hallelujah! They have been trying to hand over the key to us but the key is not ready yet so the building may be ready but the key is not ready. Amen. Church Gist. So, Oga Charles, how many more weeks? (Laughing). He says they are done but I know they are not done (Laughing). Amen. Our God is a good God. Please be happy! Amen. This phase we are in will soon pass and you will be telling some people saying: ‘You mean you were not there when we were…’ So now that we are here, rejoice. Amen. Our God is a good God!!
-Because you have helped build the House of God, your own house will be built.
This marks the end of the rebellion led by Bishop George Adjeman and
Dr. Yaw Gyamfi
Members of Winners Chapel Ghana
Pastor Emmanuel Chamah
Mr. Solomon Bonney
Dr. Denis Ansah Donkkor
Dr. Victor Attror
Mr. Samuel Bekoe
Dora Asantewaa Acquaye
Rosina Tabi
Elizabeth Aafo-Adjei
Florence Daaku
Cephas Kwashivie Agbelie
and Gerophine Tackie
LESSONS LEARNT
The saga was full of lessons:
WCI has intensified the indigenization policy with checks and balances for every local church.
Funds are now maintained by a church council in every local church and in trust for the Church body.
Transfer is now on a regular basis to avoid anyone building rebellion.
Most projects in Canaanland are funded locally except as otherwise directed during Shiloh.
The WCI released a constitution called the Mandate 8 years after the rebellion to ensure that church members are never left in the dark.
Today, the WCI has grown from about 35 nations in 2004 to 146 nations in 2024.
Today the Ark Project is almost complete and WCI Ghana has not been mandated to send funds ….some members do not know there is a project going on.
As for WCG, we wait to hear their lessons learnt or we research and release in due season.
THE END
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
Galatians 6:7
ADDENDUM
1. Bishop George Adjeman will clock 70 on 30th August 2024.
2. Bishop David Oyedepo will clock 70 exactly 4 weeks later on 27th September 2024.
