Lagos State Orders Demolition of RCCG Church After Nearby Building Collapse in Somolu
The Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) has issued a demolition order for a parish of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) located in the Somolu area of Lagos. The directive comes in the aftermath of a serious structural incident in which an adjacent building under construction suddenly collapsed, causing significant damage to the RCCG church facility.
The collapse took place on Monday, during an ongoing church service. Fortunately, no fatalities or injuries were reported despite the scale of the incident. However, the impact on the church structure was so severe that LASBCA declared the building unsafe for continued use.
By Tuesday, LASBCA had posted a final notice at the site, labelling the RCCG building as “distressed” and stating that it must be removed within seven days to prevent further danger to lives or properties.
Local residents voiced concerns over the questionable pace and standards of the collapsed building’s construction. Many described the project as “rushed,” with new construction reportedly beginning almost immediately after an old structure was demolished on the same site.
Pastor Daniel Ojo, the lead pastor of the affected RCCG parish, expressed deep sorrow over the loss of their worship center. “The sudden loss of our church building is heartbreaking. Relocating to a distant area might scatter our congregation. We’re more than a church — we’re a family,” he lamented.
Eyewitnesses recounted that construction workers had been present on the upper floors of the ill-fated structure when the collapse happened. “They had to leap and flee for their lives. It’s nothing short of a miracle that no one died,” a nearby vendor shared.
According to Adekomi Adeniyi, LASBCA’s spokesperson, a detailed structural assessment was carried out and the demolition of the RCCG church was deemed necessary to eliminate any remaining threats posed by the weakened structure.
This incident has once again highlighted concerns among urban development experts regarding the increasing number of unregulated or poorly supervised construction activities in Lagos. The Somolu collapse, they say, is indicative of a broader systemic failure in the city’s building safety enforcement.
