The Lagos State Government has shut down the headquarters of the Lord’s Chosen and Charismatic Revival Church on Ijesha, Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, Lagos, southwest Nigeria over environmental nuisance.
The Lord’s Chosen is founded by Pastor Lazarus Muoka, who serves as the General Overseer of the church.
Officials of the Ministry of the Environment shut down the church on Sunday morning and prevented the worshippers from having their Sunday service usually attended by thousands of faithful.
Investigations revealed that the church does not have solid waste disposal facility. It burns its waste inside the church premises, thereby exposing the lives of its worshippers to serious health hazard.
A substantial part of the sprawling church lies on the Odo Asimawu Canal drainage channel, thereby impeding the flow of storm water.
The church also built its toilets on the canal, thereby discharging all its human waste into the canal.
In order prevent an outbreak of epidemic, the state government had to seal the entire church premises.
The government accused the church of defacing and degrading the environment and refusing to abate the nuisance even after it had been served abatement notice to upgrade the environment.
Commissioner for the Environment, Mr. Tunji Bello said the church had committed lots of environmental abuse which it must abate before the massive edifice could be re-opened by the government as such illegality could not be tolerated any longer.
According to him, the church did not have proper waste management system, adding that it burnt its refuse inside the church, an action which ran fowl of the environmental and sanitation law of the state.
“The church does not have proper sanitary system and they discharge their wastes into the canal. Most of their members trade on the expressway and we don’t want that,” he stated

Any property that is built on drainage channels or constitute nuisance to the environment should be sealed... It doesn't matter if it is church, school or mosque..

Imagine

“The church does not have proper sanitary system and they discharge their wastes into the canal. Most of their members trade on the expressway and we don’t want that,” he stated

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