Lagos Shuts Church, Two Others.

June 17, 2009 14:40 (1 hour ago)

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

The Lagos state government, this morning, shut down Holy Life Bible Church, Abule Egba and two companies, over noise and gas pollution.

Officials of the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA), accompanied by task force officials, stormed the church and shut it down over noise from loudspeakers and air pollution from generators. LASEPA officials, led by Mr. Kayode Bello, made the church to sign a sanction document that the church will put things in place to correct the anomalies before it would be reopened.

LASEPA had earlier served the church an abatement notice which it failed to comply with before the closure. The team also shut down Current Bakery, Ilasa, over noise pollution, while Perfect Packaging Company was also shut down over the same reason and gaseous pollution. The closure of the church, according to the Lagos state government, signalled the commencement of enforcement of the state law against noise pollution in churches and other places.

The general manager, LASEPA, Engr. Rasheed Shabi, had warned that the state would no longer tolerate a situation where churches and mosques in the state disturb Lagosians with noise from their megaphones. He had warned that any church or mosque found to violate the LASEPA edict on noise pollution would be sanctioned and shut down. Rasheed, who spoke at a meeting with religious leaders in the state, urged the churches and mosques to ensure that their loud speakers were used inside their churches in order not to disturb the public.