The Deeper Life Bible Church has announced plans to immediately commence the construction of the permanent campus of its Anchor University on the more than 40-hectare parcel of land earmarked for the project in Maba Town, along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
The project site is part of a large expanse of land belonging to the Church and already housing several structures, notably the Deeper Life Camp among others.
To this end, the Church has directed that all illegal structures, machinery, and other personal possessions on the concerned parcel of land be immediately removed by their owners, as failure to do so immediately could lead to their demolition.
At a recent media briefing in Lagos, the Church said the take-off of the project had been delayed by the need to give all illegal occupants of parts of the project site ample time to voluntarily vacate the land, even though the Ogun State High Court had granted it Order of Demolition to remove all such structures as far back as April 2022.
Justice Abiodun Akinyemi issued the Order of Demolition on April 4, 2022, in response to a previous decision made by the same court on July 15, 2016, in suit number AB/251/2008, which awarded the church, as claimant, a declaration of title, damages for trespass, and a perpetual injunction, among other relief, with regard to the disputed property. Additionally, in accordance with the court’s continuing 2016 decision, a warrant for possession was granted on May 8, 2017, and it was carried out by a writ of possession executed on January 1, 2018, completing the process of the church’s right of legal possession of the subject land.
In a letter dated June 21, 2022, and bearing the reference number CB:3594/IGP.SEC/ABJ/VOL.9/28, the Inspector General of Police also instructed the Ogun State Police Command to provide the church with all police resources necessary to facilitate the takeover.
The IGP’s order came in response to a request from the Church’s legal counsel for police protection and oversight of the execution of the court’s order for demolition. The request was submitted in writing and was dated June 20, 2022.
Addressing the media at the Church’s Headquarters in Gbagada, Lagos, Chairman of the Church’s Land & Building Committee, Pastor Alfred Oghene, noted that as a humanitarian organization, the Church had acted responsibly in giving a long period of notice and waiting for an appreciable time for all trespassers on the land to voluntarily leave before its current decision to execute its court affirmed right to repossess the illegally converted portions of the land.
“There is no dispute on the land because the last appeal on the matter of ownership was filed and disposed of in the church’s favor in 2017. In 2016, 2017, and even 2022, the rights of the church as the sole owner of the land have been affirmed by the court.”
“As far back as 2018, the church has secured the Certificate of Occupancy on the land and has been discharging its financial obligations to the state government as spelt out in the C of O.”
However, due to the kingdom-attuned nature of our organization, we have been forced to adopt a more accommodative and reasonable strategy in order to evict the illegal occupants from the property,” he said.
The church, according to Pastor Oghene, could no longer afford to put off taking back possession of the land because the project it was intended for now urgently needs it. He reiterated the church’s request that all trespassers remove their illegal buildings from the property right away or face having them dismantled.
According to him, “All the projects of the church for which the lands were foresightedly acquired are now at a stage that informs our need to repossess immediately. We have exhausted our patience and there is no time to waste again. So, we have resolved to move men and equipment to the sites to commence work. All structures or objects that have not been removed by their owners will not be spared.”
