The Oyo State Government has shut down the prominent Saint Mary’s Catholic Church, Oke-Padre, Ibadan, for violating severe environmental laws over reportedly dilapidated toilet facilities causing air pollution and sewage overflow in the area.
Contesting the action, however, the Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese, Most Rev. Gabriel Abegunrin, said on Wednesday that officials of the State Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources sealed the premises of the cathedral on Tuesday despite remedial activities by the church.
State Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources, Seun Ashamu, told journalists that the situation contravened the environmental regulations and required urgent intervention to prevent potential health hazards.
According to him, the Ministry received multiple complaints from residents alleging that the church had been discharging human waste into the environment.
He said that Officers from the Ministry, upon inspection, observed visible sewage discharge and a strong foul odour, which prompted the issuance of a formal notice to the church.
“The deteriorated condition of the toilet facilities reportedly led to raw sewage being pumped into the open drainage, contaminating the entire neighborhood,” Ashamu explained
The Commissioner explained that the government could not afford to delay action, saying, “This is not a situation where we wait and issue repeated notices. When faeces are being pumped into the streets and the air is polluted, immediate intervention is necessary to prevent a disease outbreak.”
He further revealed that the church allegedly defied the government’s directive by forcefully reopening its premises after it was sealed, an action he described as illegal and punishable under the state’s environmental laws, and as a result, the church was fined N500,000 for the infraction.
“We are not targeting the church. Our only concern is public health and safety. What is expected of them is clear: open the septic tanks, evacuate the waste properly, fumigate the premises, and ensure compliance with environmental standards,” Ashamu said.
He said that the officials also imposed a N500,000 fine on the church over alleged toilet pollution.
Archbishop Abegunrin said that the officials had initially locked up the toilet of the school situated inside the Cathedral on Monday, without notice to the church.
He said that the ministry claimed that its action followed a petition by unidentified persons in the neighbourhood that two persons allegedly died due to the pollution of the environment.
Abegunrin, who rebutted the allegation, said that the petition was however not provided by the official.
He said: “We went to them and they told us to work on the toilet area of the school, which we started doing on Tuesday.
“They said if they see the work going on, they will open the toilet, but rather than opening the place, they came to lock the gate to the entire cathedral.
“The cathedral being a place of worship, where the Archbishop resides and many people use as parking space, we had to open it to give people access.”
The Archbishop said that the pupils of the school have been asked to stay home till June 2, until work on the toilet was completed.
He said that the Church has demanded for the copy of the petition and proof of the deaths of two people, alleged by the petitioner.
“Otherwise the Church will have no option than taking legal action of defamation of character against the Ministry of Environment,” the Archbishop said.
Reacting, the Permanent Secretary, Oyo State Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, Dr Sunday Ojelabi said the church was asked to pay N500,000 as penalty for polluting the environment.
“We had complaints from people around the environment about the toilet pollution and that two people died as a result of it.
“When it’s an emergency situation, the law allows us to take an immediate action.
“They were supposed to evacuate their toilet and do fumigation, we reached out to them on Monday, they didn’t do anything about it and we went to lock the place on Tuesday.
“But they went and opened the place illegally.”
