Another demolition in Enugu: Govt pulls down a church citing reason residents find unconvincing.

Pastor Abraham Agu, Senior Pastor of a new Pentecostal church, Master Builder Global Church is currently passing through a perilous time. His dream of setting up a church of his own, after serving the Dominion City Church for Eighteen years, looks bleak. A new church site which he leased on 19, Park Avenue, G.R.A, Enugu after a short spell at KOBB Civic Center near Shoprite in Polo Park, had been pulled down by the agents of Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority, on the orders of its Executive Chairman, Ken Onoh. The authority said in its notice to the church founder that the church violated the planning scheme of old GRA, Enugu

 The incident which took place on Wednesday, 12th August, 2020, had rendered its flock without a place to worship despite a Letter of Appeal dated 22nd June, 2020 which the pastor addressed to the Governor of Enugu State, Chief Lawrence Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and forwarded by his brother, Agu Gab Agu, a professor of Law at the Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Enugu. The letter was signed for on the 23rd of June, 2020 by one Chukwuma.

However, Drum Newsonline was told by a source that the Governor denied ever seeing the letter when he visited the site of the demolition, Thursday last week, a day after it was pulled down. The demolition took place the same week the Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority demolished the residential building of one Arc. Jude Emejulu on Eziokwe Street, Community Estate, Trans Ekulu, Enugu ostensibly for pulling down part of the fence of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Emene, Enugu.

For Pastor Agu, his own case was different as he never committed any offence except that he leased a property on Park Avenue to set up his church which the State agency frowned at and saw as a public nuisance. Drum Newsonline learnt that the travail of the founder started on the eve of the first service of the church on 2nd November, 2019, when a “ group of persons came to seal the premises supposedly on the instruction of the MD of ECTDA, Hon Ken Onoh. And the next day being a Sunday, was the first day church service was to hold in the premises”. Following the incident, the pastor and some other persons went to meet Mr Onoh to find a solution to the issue. At the said meeting which took place on Monday, 4th November the ECTDA boss demanded for the Deed documents of the land, tax clearance, Lease Agreement and Affidavit.

 Strangely, few hours later, without waiting for the documents to be made available to him, he moved in with a bulldozer around 7pm and some members of his workforce ‘to demolish both the Church tent and the old building within the premises”. The move was resisted by some church members who were present and the commotion the action caused attracted officers of the Department of State Services, DSS which has an office opposite the church premises. The intervention of the security operatives saved the day. They faulted the move to demolish the church at odd hours and described it as illegal. The demolition team backed out for a future date.

Pastor Abraham Agu.
Senior Pastor, Master Builder Global Church, Enugu.

Drum Newsonline gathered that ECTDA helmsman never relented on the avowed task of removing the church as he caused his office to write the owner of the property warning him to stop the church activities. In a letter, ENS/ECTDA/52/VOL.V/186 dated 30th January, 2020 titled: “Final notice on the activities of Master Builders Church led by Pastor Abraham Agu”, it states; ‘it is noteworthy to warn you that your tenants are in violation of all developmental control rules. The purpose clause of that area is seriously being violated taking into consideration that it is a residential area being turned into a commercial use and despite the fact that the premises was sealed for serious disregard of development control, your tenants broke the seal and entered into the premises without any unseal approval from the Authority”. The letter which was signed by Nkechi Okegbe, Head of Legal for the Executive Chairman, while citing Section 185 of the Criminal Code Cap 30, Laws of Enugu State of Nigeria 2004 as the peg for likely punishment on conviction, the letter concluded; ‘you are hereby given on or before 5th February, 2020 to abate all forms of nuisance on that premises or risk development control measures which will be outright demolition of all the buildings seen in the premises without recourse to anybody as this is the final notice”.

The letter from ECTDA was said to have put the property owner in a panic mode and he started taking steps to stop the church from operating within his premises.

However, the church continued to reach out to the ECTDA Executive Chairman for solution which never materialized. During one of such meetings, Onoh offered the pastor one of his properties within an estate at Iva valley, Enugu near the Enugu-Onitsha expressway at a cost which was viewed to be high and the site not within the area of choice for the church. Some of the resolutions reached were that the church would be given some time to look for an alternative place within the GRA and that contacts would be made with the Management of International Trade Fair Complex for a space within the complex. The latter also did not work out as the management of the complex declined. The comatose business and economic situation occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic worsened all efforts to get a place due to the lockdown of the country.

In June, 2020, the church got a letter from the Executive Chairman of ECTDA: ENS/ECTDA/ADM/52/Vol.VI/62 dated 4th June, 2020 and signed by Anioke Anthonia. Titled: “Re: Development Control Activity at No 19 Park Avenue, Old GRA, Enugu.” The letter reminded the church of the earlier ‘agreement between you, us, and representative from your landlord regarding your occupation of the said premises which contravened and violates the planning scheme of Old GRA, Enugu.

Master Builder Global Church tent pulled down.

“However, in view of above you have from now till the end of this month, 30th June to vacate the premises for public interest. Thus, from the 1st July, 2020, no church activity will be allowed on that premises(No 19 Park Avenue)”. On the 13th of August, 2020, a month and 12 days after the deadline, the church was pulled down with several properties which include the tent and musical equipment worth N168,440,600 (One Hundred and Sixty Eight Million, Four Hundred and Forty Thousand, Six Hundred Naira)only, destroyed. The pastor was not given the opportunity to take out any of his belongings. Since then he has known no peace.

 Will the church go to court to seek redress for the destruction? Mr Osondu Agu, a brother to the pastor and Senior Pastor of the church told Drum Newsonline that the route of court was not in contemplation now but that they are appealing to the Governor to use his good offices to compensate the church for the losses which are huge. According to him, the church was not given enough time to get an alternative place to move.  A source in the capital Territory office who declined identification described the incident as unfortunate. He however said that the church was given enough time to vacate the place.

Drum Newsonline investigation revealed that contrary to the claim of the ECTDA that the old GRA was exclusively residential and could not be turned to a commercial use, several hotels, drinking joints and other commercial outfits litter the same Park Avenue. Just few blocks from the church are about 2 hotels on the same avenue among others. The source declined any comment on the contradictions about the authority policy thrust.

What was not clear to Enugu residents was if the ECTDA saw the church as a commercial concern or whether its action was because of public nuisance which the church might be causing to the adjoining residents during its services or any other reason. The former, is not tenable as there are other commercial businesses on the same avenue and in the same GRA, Enugu. Many watchers find the reason unconvincing as others abound. “The ECTDA chairman carries on as an Emperor”, a resident described him. This is not the best of times for the State Government as its actions of late in terms building demolitions are being viewed with much concern.

Source: Drum Newsonline

Share

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *