Residents, church battle over alleged noise pollution

The Church

Residents of Sebanjo Street, Papa Ajao, Mushin, Lagos State have lamented the alleged continuous disruption of their sleep due to the noise emanating from a Pentecostal church on the street.

They alleged that the church, Transfiguration and Solution Bible Church, held vigils three times a week, which most times did not end till 5am.

They said they were usually forced to keep awake while the vigils lasted, as the blaring loudspeakers intruded into their privacy.

A resident, Audu Paul, said the problem started in 2012, when the church began to grow and its pastor, Jide Balogun, a former tailor on the street, decided to acquire bigger electronic gadgets.

He said, “The church started in 2011 on a lower level. The pastor was then using his tailor shop. All of a sudden, it metamorphosed into a big church.

“He started with some musical instruments, but later added microphones, organs and even talking drum. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday are for vigils.

“When they start, they don’t end till 5am, and that is when we are able to sleep. Our children will not be able to read or sleep. As I speak, I am on drugs. I take the drugs to sleep because of this nuisance.”

A landlord whose house is located beside the church, Segun Plumptre, also a pastor of another Pentecostal church, said he had been living in the area since 1979 and had never experienced the level of noise the church produced.

“They make noise as if they are in a beer parlour. Initially, people were tolerant until they started with the musical instruments. But this could have still been accommodated; if not that they play their instruments in the dead of the night when others are sleeping.  There is no way you can be in such an environment and sleep. Right in my bedroom, you will think it is an orchestra playing,” he lamented.

The retired aviation expert added that letters written to the Lagos State Government to check the excesses of the church had yet to receive attention, adding he had been forced  to relocate and sleep in his own church because he could not get enough rest at home.

A serving corps member in Ibadan, Oyo State, who was on a visit to his parents, Somoye Adedotun, told our correspondent that since he arrived for the December break, he had not been able to enjoy his rest because of the church’s activities.

“Last week was worse because there was no light. It was just like we were in the church. You could hear everything they were saying- the prayers and singing. Normally they stop at 4am, and we were expecting that 4am, we would sleep, but it went on till 5am. I came out and saw my cousin in the morning to ask if he slept, and he said no,” he said

PUNCH Metro obtained a petition written against the church and addressed to the General Manager of the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency, in which the Divisional Police Officer, Mushin was copied.

The letter dated October 28, 2013 threatened legal action against the church if the noise was not reduced.

When our correspondent contacted Pastor Jide on the allegations, he said, “I have been here for over 20 years. I am aware the residents wrote a letter to LASEPA and the Ministry of Environment, and my lawyer has already visited LASEPA. Ever since that time, which was around November 2013, we have reduced our noise. We only play our instrument on Sundays; when we do our weekly programmes, we end it by 8pm.

“The funny part is that all the people making the allegations used to be my friends. And none of them has ever confronted me with these issues. On Sunday, they brought a human rights activist and I showed her our sound system. She was confused because she saw we could not be making noise with what we had.”

Jide added that the church was concluding plans to finish the church building to further reduce the noise level.

Our correspondent observed that Sebanjo Street had four churches, with a mosque on the adjoining street, which had a speaker outside its building.

Jide’s lawyer, Bamidele Ojuyenum, told our correspondent on the telephone that the residents were motivated by malice because they only picked on Jide’s church, leaving out the other religious houses.