RULE OF LAW TESTED: ECWA leadership accused of disregarding court orders for Kano Central DCC
By Simon Krokeyi
By any standard—moral, legal, or spiritual—the leadership of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) has crossed a red line. The very institution that preaches obedience to God and respect for lawful authority is now itself accused of trampling on the rule of law in the most brazen manner.
At the center of this storm is ECWA’s determination to inaugurate the executives of a purported Kano Central District Church Council (DCC)—a body created in direct violation of existing court orders and allegedly in breach of Section 64 of the ECWA Constitution and Bye-Laws.
The legal timeline they cannot deny
- First Court Order Ignored – On the eve of this controversy, Justice Aisha Mahmood of the Kano State High Court (Gwarzo Division) ordered ECWA to maintain the status quo ante bellum and suspend any action toward creating a new DCC in Kano.
- Defiance at the AGM – On 29th April 2025, during the Annual General Church Council meeting, the leadership, with full knowledge of the court’s directive, went ahead to split Kano DCC and name the new entity “Kano Central DCC.”
- Second and Third Court Orders Ignored – Following an election on 10th May 2025 installing Rev. Dr. Emmanuel O. Malomo as Chairman and five others as executives, the Kano State High Court (Ungogo Division) and later High Court Vacation No. 2 issued further orders stopping them from acting or proceeding with any inauguration. All were ignored.
Names behind the actions
The church’s highest leadership; ECWA Executives and trustees, including those who presided over and sanctioned the April 29th AGM decision, as well as those pushing forward the inauguration, must now answer for why they believe ECWA is above Nigerian law.
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Their actions—coordinated, deliberate, and sustained—go beyond mere administrative oversight; they represent a conscious contempt for judicial authority.
A call for immediate accountability
This is not a theological dispute—it is a question of whether the rule of law still applies to powerful institutions. The Commissioner of Police, Kano Command, and the Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), Kano, must immediately summon ECWA leadership for questioning, and where necessary, initiate proceedings for contempt of court.
The shame of the matter
For a church to stand accused of lawlessness is a disgrace. For its leaders to repeatedly ignore court orders, knowing they are under public and legal scrutiny, is an affront to both the judiciary and the Christian faith they represent. ECWA’s actions set a dangerous precedent—one that suggests moral authority is only a slogan when it becomes inconvenient to follow the law.
If ECWA leaders cannot obey the very laws they expect members to respect, then they have no moral standing to preach obedience from the pulpit. Until they comply fully with all subsisting court orders, the public, law enforcement, and the courts must hold them accountable—not as pastors, but as citizens under the same law as everyone else.
Mr Krokeyi resides in Kano.
