Lagos church protests property demolition despite pending suit - Punch Newspapers
The Eternal Sacred Order of Cherubim and Seraphim Church, opposite the Police Barracks in Obalende, Lagos State, has alleged that officials of the state government demolished parts of its property despite a pending legal dispute over the land. The church’s Secretary, Oluwasegun Alade, who disclosed this while speaking with PUNCH Metro on Thursday, said the church had occupied the property since 1977. According to him, the Lagos State Government allocated the land to the church’s founder in 1981 during the administration of the late Governor Lateef Jakande. Alade said the church had documents, including a survey plan and receipts, to support its claim to the property. He explained that the dispute started about three years ago after authorities marked several police barracks in Lagos, including those in Obalende, Ije and Falomo, for demolition. He said the church’s property was also marked, prompting its lawyer to institute a suit against the police. Alade alleged that the police failed to appear at several court proceedings, adding that no further attempt was made to demolish the property for more than a year. However, he said officials returned to the property on Saturday, August 29, 2026, demolished the church’s fence and marked the building for removal within 24 hours. He said, “On Saturday, August 29, 2026, they came to the church in the evening. By 6 pm, they demolished the fence and entered the building. They marked it and wrote, ‘Remove within 24 hours.’ “The minister in charge called me and told me that some people had come to mark the church. There was a number on the sticker, so we called the number, and they asked us to bring our documents to their office. “I took the documents to their office on Monday morning and showed them the documents. On my way back, around 9 pm, I was informed that the people had entered the compound and said we should move within two hours.” Family accuses LASUTH of negligence over accident victim’s death Boxers battle for three titles at De Lads’ showdown Family members of slain Nasarawa police receive N30.8m cheques Alade further alleged that during a visit to the office of the Director of Enforcement of the Lagos State Building Control Agency, the official acknowledged the validity of the church’s documents. He said the official also asked about approval for the building on the property, to which the church explained that it had only renovated an existing structure. Alade said, “He said our documents were genuine and that Lagos State allocated the land to the church. He asked about the approval Lagos State gave for the building we erected there, but we told him we did not build any structure; we only renovated it. “He said he would buy us some time to do the needful because the order was from above. But while we were still in his office in Ikeja, the demolition had already started. Before we got back to the church, they had demolished part of it.” The church secretary said the short notice made it impossible for the church to evacuate its belongings from the property before the demolition began. Also speaking, the minister in charge, Ayodele Ogunfowora, alleged that the demolition began without the church receiving any formal letter or prior notice. “No letter, no notice, nothing. They just came and said we should remove everything within 24 hours. Later, they reduced it to two hours and started demolishing. I don’t know how we could remove everything from the building within that period,” he said. Ogunfowora further alleged that an officer attached to the “C” Department, Works Force Headquarters Annex of the Nigeria Police Force in Obalende, Lagos, had been threatening the church to vacate the property. “During the demolition, the officer, who is a CSP, was on the ground. He came with the officials of LASBCA and was seen taking pictures of the exercise,” he added. Efforts to obtain the state government’s response were unsuccessful, as the Commissioner for Information, Gbenga Omotoso, could not be reached for comment on Thursday. Calls to his mobile phone were not answered, while a text message sent to him had yet to receive a response as of the time of filing this report. The Force Public Relations Officer, Anietie Iniedu, could also not be reached for comment, as calls and a text message sent to him were not answered. Kindly share this story:
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