Meanwhile, the acting Chairman of Abimbola Close, Solomon Edogan, said the kind of building being constructed by RCCG could endanger the lives of people.
Residents of Abimbola Close in the Jibowu area of Lagos State have accused the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) of using police personnel to harass and intimidate leaders of the Community Development Associations for objecting to a building project of the church in the neighbourhood.
It was learnt that residents objected to the project due to fear of possible collapse of the structure and noise pollution.
The residents also lamented that the community was already choked up due to the presence of another religious house, The Church of the Lord (Aladura).
SaharaReporters gathered that the Redeemed Church Alpha and Omega had bought a small portion of land on Abimbola Close, off Oweh Street, Jibowu-Fadeyi, Lagos. According to sources, the church is planning to build a skyscraper on a small piece of land beside a church which has existed there for over two decades.
"The close has just 12 houses," one of the sources stated, adding that the church started building a skyscraper on the land, a development that forced the CDAs to report the situation to the Lagos State Government, which sent officials to seal the place.
According to one of the sources, the government told the church to "reshape because that structure was not suitable on that small plot and also they should make peace with the CDA because the close is small and parking of vehicles is already a problem”.
The source said, "The RCCG refused, picked a fight with the existing church, Aladura and the community that they will continue with the structure and nothing would stop it and the CDA refused. Instead of following the advice of the Lagos State Government, the RCCG pastor reported to the police that two members of the CDA threatened his life.
"Unknown to the two members, they visited the police on Thursday based on the invite and they were detained. On hearing the development, members of the close went to the police and bailed them out.”
The source lamented the use of police by the RCCG to threaten members of the area and questioned their aim.
According to the source, the pastor of the Alpha and Omega Parish of the RCCG, Olusegun Olalere had stormed the close and served two members of the executive committee letters to report at the police station on Thursday.
"When they arrived there, they were humiliated and were to be detained. They were told to remove their trousers before going into the cell. It was a dirty cell. If not that members of the community had gone and demanded their release, they would have been in detention till now.
"We are raising this alarm because we don't know the next thing the church and the pastor will do next. Let the world hear us."
Meanwhile, the acting Chairman of Abimbola Close, Solomon Edogan, said the kind of building being constructed by RCCG could endanger the lives of people.
He said, “This dispute with the RCCG has been going on for quite a while now. The RCCG bought a small building on our street. The land on which the building was sited does not measure up to half a plot.
“Yet, they are constructing a two-story building on that small plot of land, and what scares us most is that the way they are even constructing the building may lead to a collapsed building.
“We have contacted the Lagos State Ministry of Urban and Physical Planning to stop them. After those came, they stopped work. Suddenly, they continued to build again.”
Another resident, Adewale Alawode, explained that the close had been made so small that residents parked their cars on other streets.
He noted that if the church is allowed to complete the building, there could be chaos in the community.
“Look at the close, very small and this church wants to come and cause chaos here with their structure that is not even well constructed."
When SaharaReporters contacted the pastor of RCCG Alpha and Omega Parish, Mr Olusegun Olalere, on the telephone, he denied ever using the police to harass and intimidate residents of Jibowu.
He also denied spearheading the construction of a church on Oweh Street, close to the West African Examination Council office in Lagos.
After listening to the questions asked by our reporter, Olalere said: "You are calling the wrong number because I don't know where you are talking about and I didn't threaten anybody.
“I don't have any church there, I don't have a branch there. So you are calling the wrong number."
When Saharareporters contacted the RCCG spokesman, Pastor Olaitan Olubiyi, said he didn't have the details of the incident.
"I will find out and get back to you," he said.