A Federal High Court sitting in Kaduna has struck out a suit filed by the former Northern Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Chairman, Rev. Yakubu Pam, and former Secretary, Elder Sunday Oibe, challenging the emergence of Rev. Joseph John Hayab as the Chairman of the Northern chapter of CAN.

Delivering judgment on Thursday, Justice H. Buhari held that the body in whose name the action was instituted lacked the legal capacity to sue or be sued.

According to the court, “Northern CAN,” as presented in the suit, is not recognised as a juristic person since it is not a registered entity under Nigerian law and therefore cannot maintain any action before a court of competent jurisdiction.

Buhari further noted that only properly incorporated organisations possess the corporate legal identity required to initiate or defend a lawsuit in their official names.

Speaking to journalists after the ruling, counsel to the 2nd defendant, Dr. Grace E. Kaka, explained that the court reaffirmed the long-standing legal principle that unincorporated associations cannot activate judicial processes in their organisational names.

She added that the judgment has effectively brought an end to the litigation, stressing that the leadership tussle was, at best, an internal matter of the association.

Kaka noted that the ruling reinforces the requirement under the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) that any association seeking to approach the courts must be duly registered. She said the court’s pronouncement leaves no ambiguity regarding the status of the current leadership of the Association, led by Hayab, who was elected on February 25, 2025.