Lagos seals Surulere church over noise pollution

By Olasunkanmi Akoni

The Lagos State Government has sealed The All Christians Gathering Ministry in Surulere over alleged noise pollution and violations of environmental regulations.

The church, located at No. 1, Ishola Street, off Clegg, Surulere, was shut on Sunday following an investigation which reportedly established that its activities violated environmental regulations and constituted a nuisance to residents.

The Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, announced the closure in a statement on his X account, saying the action followed a complaint by a resident identified as DAVERY (@BigDavery) over persistent noise from the church.

“Following a complaint by @BigDavery regarding noise pollution from a church, our officials conducted an investigation and confirmed that the church was in violation of environmental regulations and constituted a nuisance to residents in the area,” Wahab said.

He added that the facility had been sealed and would remain closed until further notice.

The commissioner said the state government would not tolerate environmental violations or activities that disrupted the peace and well-being of residents, stressing that religious institutions, businesses and other establishments must comply with environmental regulations.

The enforcement action followed a series of complaints by the resident, who had taken to X in the early hours of Saturday to report noise which he said had repeatedly disrupted his sleep.

In one of his posts, made at about 1:31 a.m., the complainant appealed to Wahab to intervene, sharing videos of the noise and offering to provide the church’s address privately for security reasons.

In earlier posts, the resident also alleged that a member of the church had threatened him after he confronted the ministry over the noise.

He further expressed concern about the impact on other residents, including a household with a child under one year old.

The complainant also said the noise had forced him to keep his windows shut at night despite the heat and lack of electricity to operate a fan.

The closure forms part of the Lagos State Government’s efforts to enforce environmental regulations and curb noise pollution across the state.

Under Lagos State environmental regulations, permissible noise levels in residential areas are 55 decibels during the day and 45 decibels at night.