CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Before 1914, the church was the center of the social, spiritual and political aspirations of educated Africans and illiterate converts (Ayandele, 1966:178). The church is by itself solemn, revered by its congregants and held as sacred by the society. Because the church is beyond a building and is not complete without her congregants, the occurrence of conflict is inevitable. The incidences of conflict in the church further strengthen the assertion that conflict is ever present in all human relations. Conflict in churches usually result in excommunication, litigation, suspension of membership, transfer of clergy.As a phenomenon, breakaway is neither new nor common to Nigeria. Human relation is the all-important recipe for conflict, notwithstanding the umbrella that unites them