Robert Igbinedion, a Lagos based lawyer who filed the suit on behalf of the young lady, had asked the court to award N2billion as 'general and exemplary damages' against the flamboyant pastor among other reliefs.
But delivering judgment Thursday morning, Justice Ojo struck out the case, saying the application lacked merit on many grounds. He awarded a N20,000 cost against the applicant.
He said the girl, who was allegedly slapped, remained a ghost victim and that the applicant failed to prove that he attended the service where the girl was allegedly slapped and .
Mr. Oyedepo was named the richest pastor in Nigeria last year by Forbes magazine with an estimated worth of over N20billion.
During the hearing of the case, Dele Adesina, counsel to Bishop Oyedepo, had complained to the court that they did not have a photograph and the video where the Bishop slapped the young lady.
Mr. Adesina had argued that there was nothing to show that the young lady who was slapped in the video – who had been dubbed 'Miss Justice' in the course of the suit - is a living person.
"There is nothing to show in the application that 'Miss Justice' is a living and existing person entitled to claim under the provisions of the 1999 Constitution," Mr. Adesina said.
"We humbly submit that 'Miss Justice' is a fictitious person, not capable of being represented in court.
"For the applicant to establish that he is suing on behalf of another person, that person must be determinable and identifiable," he added.
On his part, Mr. Igbinedion asked the court to grant him all his reliefs since the respondents, in denying that the young lady was slapped, had failed to help the court arrive at justice.
"The respondents rather chose to lay their defence on all imaginable legal technicalities without attacking or denying the several damaging allegations," said Mr. Igbinedion. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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That Lawyer should be handed over to Boko Haram for panel-beating. He thought this is Oyibo man country where every little thing will lead to award of huge damages. Something that happened in 2009 is what he think he can present and make 2 billion today. ole! Let him wait to be slapped so he can make money and not someone else.
ReplyDeleteabi o, no mind the man ojare...
ReplyDeletei pity that hungry lawyer, he has use his greed to hasten his doom! d girl was slapped cos she said she was a witch for Jesus and she returned in february 2010 to beg Papa, if a witch could go back to beg you guys better advice dat greedy lawyer to do thesame, his intention was to rubbish Bishop Oyedepo and God didnt let that happen...i tell u d truth...his own will be more than wat he intended for the Bishop
ReplyDeleteIf he slapped the girl then we are not save with the pastors in this country. Just wondering how many people Christ slapped in his time.
ReplyDeleteJustice indeed is blind.
ReplyDelete1 slap = N2b, 2 slap = N4b.......10 slap is N20billion. This lawyer supposed to be flogged. In Nigeria, slapping is just a warning and not a full disciplinary action. Anyway, that's what bad economy can cause.
ReplyDeleteNo one can curse or succeed in scandalizing one who God has blessed,i know, they will definitely loose out, hungry people looking for N2bn.
ReplyDeleteThis is not a matter who's wrong or who's right. It's a matter of the ineptitude of the lawyer, who I thought was representing an aggrieved party. He was simply riding on the spotlight of the media glare. He couldn't bring along the girl; couldn't get a subpoenaed and accept video clip of the slap; and depended on hearsay. Although, I'm not a lawyer, I wouldn't hire him for a traffic offense. As for the young girl, let her say something like that in a mosque, and see if she wouldn't receive something meaner. It's only in Christianity, where the principal figure is God, Himself, that people expect to blaspheme and go free. Thank God for the girl who came back to apologize. Look at Bishop Oyedepo's antecedent. Has he ever slapped anybody else in the past? He is a fairly public figure, whose every action gets press time. Think about that. Nigerians should learn to celebrate symbols of positive influence. Oyedepo is one of those. We thank God for his vindication of the man of God.
ReplyDeleteyou filed a suit on behalf of someone who was slapped. What will you file on behalf of someone who is killed?
ReplyDeleteWell, the lawyer should not be blamed; the only thing here is, it seems he did not seek the consent of the girl, as such, she refused to go to court with him. If the girl had refused right from the onset, he should have known that the case will not get anywhere. If not, it is a case to pursue. Is it a slap that will purify the lady? Christianity is not Islam and will never ever be; anybody saying if it were to be in a mosque are not doing a worthwhile comparison. What if the girl had appeared in the court. Do you think this would have been a small case?
ReplyDeleteAustin think before you talk!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThe issue was related to christians and church/Pastor while mentioning mosque.
You are biased and have to be careful!!
No yoruba moslem will abuse christians or churches but most of yoruba christian youths use to do as you did even in higher institutions
Learn to live harmoneously.
Thanks.
Moslem
@Anonymous Above(9:59)
ReplyDeleteU said,what of if the girl appears in the court.Now she didn't appear because no one complain to the lawyer for law suit.He just want to make money from fat ground.Ok,let's look at it this way,if the lawyer wins the case as it is,will he go & search for the girl to share her out of the money?U don't close your eye to walk in the dark!Jesus flogged people out of the temple,why u did not accuse Jesus of flogging?Why he didn't admonish & pray for them?Or is not the same Jesus that saved that Woman they caught in the habit of adultary/fornication from being stoned?U don't blame men of God,they are led to act by God. They call themselves men of God & people call them the same,that's why you leave them for God to be judged,otherwise,you(as Christian) will become the same thing with Boko-Haram fighting for their god who can't defend himself.No one can fight/defend God.Check Bible,those that tried it were destroyed.What can you say to that?Therefore,instead of blaming anyone called man of God,learn to say..........'Hummmmm,God take control'
grave measures meted by the pastor are not unusual by. the problem is u won't know unless u are a student in his school or other businesses and he is a god-like fellow whose name his adherents remember more than jesus christ. for example, if u miss church programs as or a student or forget to bring a bible you coud face a suspension. this had happened...but of course this is a man of god in nigeria. people dont talk.
ReplyDeletegrave measures by the pastor is not unusual...the problem is, this is nigeria, a deeply religious country. people dont talk. in fact this comment will be denounced by a religious fanatic. the pastor has been known to suspend his students for up to an academic session for forgetting to bring a bible or failing to attend one of several religious programmes arranged for his university students. but of course he is a Man Of God. holy and perfect!remember,that learned fellow could not have taken that bold step if the act had not actually happened. i feel sorry for him. he was up against one of the most powerful and influential nigerians in the country.by their fruit, u shall know them.
ReplyDeletePlease put an end to this discussion,I want to remind you of grave consequences that followed Miriam ,d elder sister of Moses in the Bible,for discussing Zipporah the wife of Moses.
ReplyDeleteNo matter how you are passionate,it's clear that those people called by God are glorified by God so it's not anybody business to discuss them .
Pls find something to do,it's dangerous to be chastised by God.
let us get the fact right, nobody has the right to slap anybody, man of God or not.when christ met people with unclean spirits, he called them out not slap the individuals, i cannot recall the mad man of gadara being slapped, Jesus called the uncleans spirit out of Him. The bible says that Christ came for this reason. Also we all know that the incident happened, why should the lawyer of a so called man of God lie that the incident never occured, Christ is about absolute truth, the case could have been thrown out on the basis of the girl not showing up. Yes the lawyer was greedy and did it for the wrong reason but God will never vindicate His own Chosen on the basis of lie. It is a blatant lie that the incident never happened. if the so called man of God s child was possesed will he allow people to slap her or will he prayerfully cast the demon out of her. this was a young girl. The man has a short temper and was not happy that the Girl challenged Him, he should learn to control himself.We idolise our so called man of God too much, let us go back and read the life of Christ to know how He would have behaved. As a public figure representing the invisible God, I expected more from him. even if the Girl has shown up, this is niger, power pass power, if the so called man of God lawyer can lie, they can also bribe the judge. Case finish, On judgement day, we will know who bi man of God!.
ReplyDelete