The Traditional Religious Practitioners’ Association (TRPA) in Nigeria has taken legal action against the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC, for refusing to register traditional believers as a religious body.
TRPA seeks recognition as a religious entity like the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, and the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, NSCIA.
In its June 2022 online application to register with the CAC, the Traditional Religious Practitioners Association, TRPA, led by Dibia Chukwuma Ezeoruonye and two others as trustees, requested that the TRPA be registered as a legal entity to promote their faith, but the CAC in its reply to the application, rejected the application for registration.
According to Within Nigeria, in its response to TRPA dated July 11, 2022, the Commission said: “The CAC regrets to inform you that it has not been able to approve any of the names submitted for approval … name not registrable as their forms of worship and practices are not publicly available.”
In their lawsuit filed in the Federal High Court in Enugu (Claim No. FHC/EN/CS/140/2022) by their attorney, Obi K. Odo Esquire, the traditional religious worshipers allege that the CAC discriminated against the Complainant for practicing religion contrary to the provision of Section 42 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“Other religious groups were included by the defendants but chose to deny us simply because we are traditional worshippers; There is no other way to persuade the defendants to establish us as the board of trustees of the association except through the intervention of this court,” the plaintiffs contended.
The federal government of Nigeria, the Attorney General and the Minister of Justice joined the lawsuit as co-defendants.
Plaintiffs are seeking an explanation that the CAC’s refusal to approve the Traditional Religious Practitioners’ Association as a name for purposes of their incorporation as registered trustees of TRPA violates their right to freedom of religion/worship and is discriminatory against the 1999 Constitution in the amended version; He also stated that the refusal was ultra vires and unlawful under Part C of the Companies and Allied Matters Act.
They therefore asked the court for an order obliging the CAC to approve the registration; determine if the group is registrable and if the CAC had the right to refuse approval of the name not violating the law.
In his affidavit in support of the original subpoena, Dibia Chukwuma Ezeoruonye, Chair of the TRPA Board of Trustees, stated that the reason given for denial of approval does not conform with the legally permissible circumstances for the CAC to reject the proposed name and thereby their violated religious freedom guaranteed by Section 38 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Government of Nigeria, who is a second defendant in this matter.
The trial, filed in Federal Court in Enugu on July 21, 2022, is awaiting the judges’ return from annual leave when the hearing begins.
