Oyo Gov’t Seals Church Over Unresolved Noise Pollution

The Oyo State government has sealed a new generation church, Christ Life Church, situated at Golden Estate, Oluyole, Ibadan, Oyo state.

The government attributed this to prolonged unresolved complaints of noise pollution against the church.

A statement by the Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources, Architect Abdulmojeed Mogbonjubola, said the church had to be sealed to avert preventable escalations of brewing tensions between the residents and the church on Sunday.

He explained that Some members of the community had locked the estate gate against members of Christ Life Church, and prevented services from being held over noise pollution.

Mogbonjubola said the state government had to intervene to prevent escalations of any sort.

According to him, “Officials of the Ministry on receipt of several complaints from next door residents to the Church, over the incessant noise, through official letters and phone calls, visited the area, on Thursday 9th November, 2023.

“The team recorded the sound level of the church activities at intervals, starting from praise-worship, with the average reading of Seventy-four (74) DB (daytime), contravening the Extant Environmental Regulations of 2023, Section 58, Paragraph (b) which states that the noise limits for residential areas at daytime must not exceed 65DB.

“Hence, it was ascertained with sound measurements that the church constituted noise pollution. A resolution meeting was held with the parties, in the Ministry’s conference room on 29th November 2023, where the Church refused to sign the undertaking letter, with the excuse to get approval from its Headquarters and report back on Monday 4th December 2023.

“We frowned at the consistent crisis, which consequently resulted in the sealing of the church.”

Mogbonjubola warned against noise pollution in the state, both by churches, mosques, clubhouses, industries, companies and marketplaces, as violators would be prosecuted.