December 12, (THEWILL) – In June 2021, the world was thrown into mourning after the untimely death of the
founder of Synagogue Church of all Nations, SCOAN, Prophet Temitope Balogun Joshua. The prominent televangelist passed on a few hours after presiding over a programme in the church. The church was forced to go on a compulsory break to mourn the untimely demise of its founder.
While on break, the founder’s wife, Evelyn was asked to take over the running of the church. But one of the disciples, Joseph David, thought otherwise and put his foot down. He insisted that since the late founder had no succession plan before his demise, the board of trustees had no business appointing Evelyn to head the church. He said the founder had five ‘prophets’ who were always with him, he being one of the ‘prophets’.
David added that since the ‘prophets’ handled the administration and spiritual affairs of the congregation when the founder was alive, one of the ‘prophets’ should head the church.
He went on to say that Evelyn was never active administratively but only functioned ceremoniously, adding that her name was removed from the board of trustees of the church before the demise of her husband.
David, who worked for 27 years in the ministry, was immediately tagged an enemy of progress who did not want a smooth succession plan to take place. He was restricted and his activities placed under scrutiny, while Evelyn took over the administration of the church.
The church later filed an injunction in a Lagos High Court for the appointment of Evelyn as a trustee of the church. According to the petitioners, the widow would fill the vacuum created by her husband, who was the third trustee of the church. They argued that the two surviving members of the board of trustees lacked the legal capacity to make the necessary decision to move the church forward,  hence her appointment Justice Tijani Ringim of the Ikoyi High court granted their request and appointed Evelyn as a trustee of the church.
Immediately after the announcement, the mother of three evicted some of the ‘disciples’ who had stayed with the late prophet for more than 20 years. However, while the ‘disciples’ were packing their things to leave, a number of them decided to dip their hands in the church’s purse which they  surprisingly, they had access to. They were promptly charged by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for fraud, theft and money laundering.
Eventually, SCOAN re-opened its doors to thousands of worshippers who were eager to resume their spiritual activities on Sunday, November 5, 2021. On that day, the church held a memorial service in honour of its late founder. It was the first time that the church would hold a live service since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 lockdown.
While making her speech, Evelyn Joshua appreciated all those who stood by her during the turbulent time the church passed through. She thanked her members for not allowing the past to hold them in bondage and added that the day will forever be remembered.
