Lagos Targets More Noisy Churches, Mosques by adenigga(op): 7:08am
The Lagos State Government has vowed to seal more religious centres and entertainment businesses violating its noise pollution regulations, as Christian and Islamic leaders backed the enforcement exercise, saying that places of worship must respect residents’ rights to peace and quiet.

The General Manager of the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency, Dr Tunde Ajayi, told Sunday PUNCH that the agency would continue to sanction facilities exceeding permissible noise levels after investigations and necessary warnings.

However, while the Lagos chapters of the Christian Association of Nigeria and the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, alongside the Chief Imam of the Daaru Na’im Central Mosque in Lagos, Sheikh Imran Eleha, supported the government’s action, the National President of Jama’at Ta’awunil Muslimeen, Daood Molaasan, opposed the closure of worship centres, suggesting that the government should consider alternative measures.

This comes after state officials on Sunday sealed The All Christians Gathering Ministry in Surulere, Lagos, over alleged noise pollution, following complaints that its late-night activities disrupted residents’ sleep.

The state Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, announced the closure in a post on X, saying an investigation confirmed that the church violated environmental regulations and constituted a nuisance to residents.

Sunday PUNCH gathered that the church, located at No. 1, Ishola Street, off Clegg, Surulere, was sealed following a public appeal by an X user, DAVERY (@BigDavery), in the early hours of Saturday.

Accompanying videos of the noise, the user wrote, “Dear @tokunbo_wahab, It’s 1:31 am, and I can’t sleep. They’ve started again. I’m trying not to put the address out for security reasons but I can provide necessary details in a chat, call or email when you give me a go-ahead. It’s getting louder and I think it’s deliberate.”


The enforcement action generated controversy on social media, with some users accusing the state government of what they described as the persecution of churches and selective justice.

But Wahab dismissed the allegations, insisting that the enforcement exercise was not directed at any religious group.

In another post, the commissioner shared a photograph of the Ifelodun Mosque during an enforcement operation by LASEPA, which also resulted in its sealing.

Responding to an enquiry from Sunday PUNCH on Thursday, Ajayi said the regulations were not targeted at religious centres alone but applied to all establishments using public address systems.

He maintained that all religious and entertainment centres found culpable would be shut after warnings.

According to him, the permissible noise levels in residential areas are set at 55 decibels during the day and 45 decibels at night under state environmental laws.

The LASEPA general manager said the facilities sealed recently had ignored two previous warnings from the agency.


He urged residents to report genuine cases of noise pollution, assuring them that more facilities would be sanctioned following investigations and the issuance of warnings.


Ajayi said the agency would also sanction mosques where the call to prayer exceeded the five-minute limit stipulated by the state.

“While we understand that people are in business, particularly entertainment houses, their businesses should not disrupt the lives of other people significantly. They should not have to wake people from sleep with their noise,” he added.

Ajayi outlined four stages of enforcement, beginning with an abatement notice, followed by a pre-sanction notice, before the sealing of defaulting facilities and the imposition of fines.

Lagos CAN, PFN back crackdown

Reacting, the Lagos State chapters of CAN and the PFN backed the state government’s enforcement of noise pollution regulations, saying churches found violating the rules should be sanctioned.

Speaking with Sunday PUNCH, the CAN Chairman in the state, Bishop Stephen Adegbite, said the Christian body had repeatedly sensitised its members to the need to regulate the use of loudspeakers and respect the rights of residents in their neighbourhoods.

Adegbite said churches had no justification for disturbing residents with loud noise, particularly during late-night services and vigils in residential areas.

“We don’t expect anybody to violate such rules and regulations because, when you are having your own service, some people may be resting. You cannot say you want to have a vigil and your church is situated in a place that is accommodating others, or in an estate, and you are now making noise from 10pm to 5am. That is not acceptable anywhere in the world,” he said.

He urged religious centres to adjust the volume of their loudspeakers to suit the size of their congregations, adding that the same consideration should apply to mosques.


Adegbite said CAN supported the government’s decision to sanction churches and mosques that violated the regulations, insisting that the association would not intervene to protect offenders.

Similarly, the state chairman of PFN, Pastor Yemi Davids, said the group was working with the state government to address noise pollution complaints involving churches.

Davids disclosed that the PFN’s Directorate of Intergovernmental Relations had met with government representatives and other stakeholders, which resulted in an arrangement for complaints against churches to be referred to the fellowship for investigation before enforcement.

He said the arrangement allowed the PFN to contact affected pastors, establish the facts and encourage compliance where violations were confirmed.

Davids said the PFN supported the enforcement of noise pollution regulations but was also concerned about what he described as the unnecessary persecution of churches.

“We don’t encourage noise pollution at all, and we also do not want undue persecution of churches for no reason. When there is any church that has violated the regulation, there should be a warning, maybe in the form of letters to PFN or engagement before the final sealing of the church,” he said.

On his part, the Head of Media and Publicity of the Celestial Church of Christ Worldwide, Kayode Ajala, said the government was justified in taking action against churches and mosques that continued to violate noise pollution regulations despite receiving warnings.

He maintained that although Nigerians had the constitutional right to freedom of religion and worship, such rights should not be exercised in ways that infringe on the rights of others.

He urged churches to respect the residential nature of neighbourhoods, arguing that religious centres and other establishments should not engage in activities that disrupt the peace of residents.


Islamic scholar warns against blackmail

Similarly, the Chief Imam of the Daaru Na’im Central Mosque in Lagos, Sheikh Imran Eleha, backed the state government’s closure of the worship centres, saying no religious activity should inconvenience neighbours.

He also warned that nobody should use religion as a basis to threaten or blackmail the government over the enforcement of regulations against noise pollution.

“There is no provision in Islam that permits Muslims to inconvenience other people around them in the name of worship. We have a hadith in which the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) admonished Muslims not to disturb one another while worshipping or reciting the Qur’an, reminding them that everyone is communicating with their Lord and should not raise their voices in a way that inconveniences others,” he said.

However, Eleha explained that the only religious activity that justifies the use of external loudspeakers is the call to prayer (Adhan) at the appropriate times to alert Muslims to the commencement of prayers.

Apart from this, he said mosques should use internal speakers for other religious activities, although there were three conditions for the use of external speakers.

“The overriding condition in both circumstances is that the use of loudspeakers must not disturb people living within the neighbourhood. The Holy Prophet prohibited Muslims from causing harm or inconvenience to their neighbours.

“The worst part is when some people gather worshippers in the mosque at midnight in the name of vigil, thereby disturbing the peace of their neighbours. They use loudspeakers, beat tambourines and make so much noise. Islam does not support such acts.

“Churches that organise night vigils involving loud drumming, dancing and excessive noise, thereby disturbing their neighbours, should equally be awarded warnings to desist from such practices.”

But the National President of Jama’at Ta’awunil Muslimeen, Daood Molaasan, frowned on the closure of worship centres, describing the measure as extreme.

He urged the government to adopt alternative measures in its campaign against noise pollution, suggesting instead that night vigils could be banned.

Molaasan said, “We are not in support of the closures of churches or mosques because of noise pollution. The government should come up with another action instead of shutting the worship centres. Look at the number of people going to church and mosques; the government may end up becoming an enemy of the people.”

He suggested that the government could convene meetings with religious leaders and issue warnings to offending centres.

“The government should call the worship centres together and warn them against noise pollution. There are ways to compel them instead of shutting the worship centres. The government can ban night vigils. Whoever wants to do a vigil should do that in his or her house, or without using a microphone.”