Rage As FG Demolishes 12 Churches In Lagos State

The demolition of 12 churches by authorities of the Federal Housing Authority on 2nd Avenue in FESTAC Town, Lagos State, has sparked uproar.

According to our sources, the exercise on Sunday also impacted a market and a vehicle dealership.

The demolition began around 5 a.m. and lasted until about 3 p.m., according to NewsDirect.

Pastor Joshua Obong, the pastor of the Gate of Righteousness Evangelical International Church, said he began his ministry in the community 18 years ago and was baffled as to why his church was being demolished.

He said, “The officials first came last week and started marking our buildings. After they were done, they left and returned two days later. That was when they gave us a seven-day notice, which expired last Wednesday.

“On Sunday morning, around 5am, we suddenly saw bulldozers at the First Gate, FESTAC Town. They got to my church at exactly 11am; they demolished all the churches along the road, except the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Communion Chapel and CPM, which they spared. All other churches were brought down.”

Prior to the seven-day notice, Obong said there was no additional warning.

He said that the government took advantage of judicial employees’ strike, and that no one could go to court for injunctions to stop the demolition.

“We wrote to them, seeking extension of time, but the letter was not even acknowledged,” he added.

Pastor William Ehiorenren, the Overseer of Christ Gospel Church International, claimed a senior government official recommended them to send a lawyer to Abuja to settle the situation.

He stated, “He promised that they would not touch any church till the lawyer returned. Our lawyer was still in Abuja when they came on Sunday, a day of service, and demolished our churches. The lawyer called all their staff members, but they switched off their phones.

“We heard that they want to re-allocate the land and sell to moneybags and make millions. I have not seen where seven days would be given for people to vacate their property.

“We have been in that area for years and we spent millions of naira in building our churches. They could not even give us time to move, because they had mapped out their evil plan to sell the land to people.”

Ehiorenren said his church usually paid tenancy rates to landlords, who he claimed had legal claims to the land.

He explained that his church was not served any notice of demolition.