Nigerian Primate Urges Legal Officers to Avoid Court
As reported in The Guardian newspaper of Nigeria, “The Most Revd Henry Ndukuba, Primate of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) has urged the Legal Officers of the Church to avoid taking Church issues to Courts of adjudication, saying they should always employ dispute resolution mechanism. Ndukuba spoke during an interaction with the legal officers at the 10th edition of the Conference of Chancellors, Registrars and Legal Officers of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) held at National Secretariat of the Church, St Matthias House, Gudu District, Abuja, from 2nd – 5th August 2021, with the theme: “We are hard pressed on every side.” 2 Cor. 4:8 (NIV).
“The Primate gave a short introduction on the Ministry of the Legal Officers of the Church. He said the Work and service of the Legal Team in the Church of God is such as Moses did for Israel. The Commandment, Law and Statutes were meant to guide Israel to live to please God and to serve people. The statutes spelt out the duty of every member of God’s community, their duty towards God and man. God also raised Leaders and Elders who administered justice.
“Ndukuba emphasised the need for the Anglican Chancellors, Registrars and Lawyers not to see themselves as oppositions to their Bishops but support efforts at addressing legal issues affecting the church. He urged them to come up with a proposal to support the inclusion of Episcopal Laws in the on-going Constitutional review.
“The Conference of Chancellors, Registrars and Legal Officers of the Church of Nigeria started in 2011 when the recently retired Primate, Most Revd Nicholas D. Okoh considered that all the personnel in the legal department of the Church across the Dioceses of the Church of Nigeria should have a platform where important matters relating to the church legally were to be discussed and taught”. For the full report see: www.guardian.ng
