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i
"That Suit SC.23/1991, the Registered Trustees of the Rosicrucian Order Amorc (Nigeria) v. Henry O. Awoniyi &. Ors., in which the appeal and cross-appeal was dismissed on 15/7/94 did not declare any right in the applicant capable of enforcement;
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ii
That the Registrar-General of the Corporate Affairs Commission and the Inspector-General of Police, being necessary parties in this application who are not joined cannot be bound by any order the Supreme Court will make;
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iii
That relief Nos.1 and 2 on the body of the applicants' application dated 6th December, 1999 are Executive action on which the Supreme Court cannot afford to exercise jurisdiction".
Akpamgbo SAN made a convincing submission against the motion Filed by the applicants. He gave his reasons why the motion was incompetent. Learned counsel referred to an appeal No. SC.23/1991 in which the parties to this present application were involved. The appeal is reported in (1994) 7 NWLK (Pt. 355) 154. The history of the dispute between the parties started in the High Court of Cross River State, sitting at Calabar- The Registered Trustees of the. Rosicrucian Order, AMORC (Nigeria) as plaintiff sued (1) Henry 0. Awoniyi, (2) Gabriel Abikoye and (3) ECWA Production Limited and Caxton Press (W.A) Limited for libel. The 1st to 3rd defendants are the applicants in this motion. The action arose from three articles published in three issues of a magazine called Today's challenge of March/April, May/June and July/August editions in 1984. In the March/April issue AMORC (hereinafter referred to, in this ruling as the respondent) was referred to, infer alia, as a secret and sinister organisation.
In the May/June issue of the magazine the respondent was projected as Satanic and in July/August issue the source of the teaching of the respondent, one H. Spencer Lewis, was viled as a liar, a hypocrite, a swindler, an egotistical charlatan and a man without hunour or integrity. The respondent sued the applicants for libel and claimed 10 Million Naira for damages. The High Court gave judgment in favour of the respondent and awarded N1Million as damages for the libel. On appeal to the Court of Appeal, the court below allowed the appeal and dismissed the action of the respondent.
Dissatisfied with the decision the respondent appealed to this court. The applicants also cross-appealed. In a unanimous decision, in which I took part, this court dismissed both the appeal and the cross-appeal. In the lead judgment delivered by Wali JSC., the learned Justice referred to Exhibits 26 and 38 which were tendered during trial and opined that some quotations in those exhibits justified the description of the respondent as a secret and satanic organisation. My Lord Iguh, JSC. in his contribution to the lead judgment held:
"Clearly to assert, as the plaintiff unequivocally said that Jesus Christ was a member of secret societies and that he was an advocate of occult teaching is speaking for myself, satanic, sinister, blasphemous and entirely unacceptable".
It is because of these remarks which were not the subject-matter of that appeal that the applicants came before this court with the motion disclosed earlier in this judgment, praying for an order:- (i) directing the Registrar-General of the Corporate Affairs Commission to withdraw and cancel the certificate of registration of the respondent No. 1415 dated 7th July, 1982 or any subsequent certificate issued to the respondent; and (ii) directing the Inspector-General of Police to seal 'the offices of the respondent nation wide and to prosecute any person carrying on activities in the name of the respondent.
