Two environmental officers of the Lagos State Government
were detained on the order of the pastor of Sunrise Cathedral Church,
Ikotun area of Lagos, Southwest Nigeria while carrying out official assignment.
There had been complaint of noise
pollution emanating from the church located at 25, Oluwaseyi Street in
Ikotun by residents in the area who wrote to the government to abate the
nuisance.
Following the visit of the officials to the
church, they were detained for about three hours before a taskforce went
to their rescue.
Consequently, the church was on
Tuesday shut down by the state government for detaining the officials
and for failing to abate the nuisance.
Two government
officials were said to have arrived the premises of the church to
dialogue with the leadership but were locked inside.
The
driver of the bus the government officials came with was said to have
waited for hours outside the gate and had to call the office having
noticed that the two staff were not coming out of the church.
The
pastor of the church and his wife were said to have escaped when
taskforce officials came to the premises to rescue the detained staff,
while the guard on duty was0 was arrested.
Commissioner
for the Environment, Tunji Bello confirmed the incident, saying that
officers of from the Ministry were prevented from carrying out their
lawful duty.
According to him, “upon the receipt of
complaints on noise pollution from the church, our officers had gone to
carry out monitoring exercise in the premises with a view to encouraging
abatement of the nuisance. However, the pastor of the church and his
wife not only prevented them from doing this but manhandled and also
succeeded in locking them up for up to three hours.
“
But for the wisdom of the driver who called and informed the office,
these officers would have remained in the church custody. It took the
intervention of the taskforce on Environmental Offences to secure their
release.”
Bello, who said the state government would
not tolerate environmental abuses, urged all to carry out their
businesses and activities with respect for the rights of others.
For
the erring Sunrise Cathedral, he said that the church would be made to
respect the laws as no individual or organization had the right to take
the laws in their own hands, adding that “we all have a duty to our
environment as well as to the good health and well-being of our
neighbours.”
Bello urged all Lagosians to ensure
compliance with environmental laws and cooperate with officers from the
ministry as doing this was in their best interest.
Source:PM News
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