A statement by the state’s Ministry of the Environment, made available to The PUNCH on Tuesday, said the church was sealed off in order to prevent an outbreak of epidemic, as well as protect the lives of its worshippers.
It read, “An inspection of the church’s environment revealed that solid waste generated was not properly disposed of.
“It was openly burning waste on the church premises, exposing the lives of its worshipers to health hazards.”
A substantial part of the one kilometre church auditorium was also alleged to have been built on the Odo Asimawu drainage channel, which the ministry claimed impeded the flow of flood water as well as inhibiting effective performance of the channel.
“All the church toilets were built on the canal, thereby enabling the deliberate discharge of raw human wastes into it,” the statement added
The Commissioner for the Environment, Mr. Tunji Bello, was said to have directed that the church could only be reopened after all nuisances had been abated and encumbrances along the drainage channel, removed.
“There must be complete sanitization of the entire church environment; a proper facility for the disposal of solid waste must be put in place; new toilet facilities built and proper evacuation of the human and solid wastes dumped into the canal ensured ,” the statement said.
The church is also expected to remove all structures built on the drainage channel.
BY COMFORT OSEGHALE
CULLED FROM PUNCH NEWSPAPER
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