A 61-year-old retiree, Olanike Okumeh, has accused The Redeemed Evangelical Mission of not fixing her three-bedroom home at 5 Mobil Road, Satellite Town, Lagos State after the church tore down the walls to convert it to a hall for religious services.

Okomeh told PUNCH Metro that the church failed to restore the apartment to its original state and also neglected to pay nine months of outstanding rent, despite an agreement with its pastors to address both issues when they vacated the property.

While seeking the intervention of relevant authorities, she said, “I want them to repair the house and pay the rent they owe me. It was originally a three-bedroom house, but they tore down all the walls and converted it into a hall for their church. They promised to restore it to its original condition before moving out.

“When I found out the house had been demolished, I met with them, and we agreed that they would restore it to its original condition whenever they decided to leave. But now that they’ve moved out, whenever we try to contact them, they keep referring us to one pastor or another.

“In the past, whenever their rent was due, they would either claim the roof was leaking or that there was an issue with the foundation. They had been doing this for a long time, so I eventually asked them to leave the apartment. The only time they made full payment was when they initially paid for the accommodation.”

The retiree told PUNCH Metro that the church failed to inform her or give her agent the house keys after they moved out in March 2023.

“When I sent them the notice to vacate, they pleaded with me to allow them to stay until April 2024, promising to restore the apartment before they left. After April, I didn’t receive any response from them, prompting me to reach out through my lawyer in May 2024, only to learn that they had moved out in March 2024.

“They left, locked up the place, and disappeared. They didn’t pay the rent they owed, which had been due since December 2023, nor did they repair the apartment or return the key to me,” she added.

Supporting the 61-year-old’s claims in an interview with our correspondent on Saturday, Okomeh’s husband, Paul, stated that the church had been indecisive about when the outstanding rent would be paid and when the house would be restored to its original structure.

“We have been trying to communicate with them. I called them today (Saturday), but there was no response. I told them they weren’t acting like Christians. They locked up the house and took the key with them,” Paul said.

In a separate interview with our correspondent on Saturday, one of the branch leaders during the rental period, Pastor Henry Emelike, claimed that the house had become a dumping ground for refuse and that the church had to rebuild the structure.

Confirming that there was an agreement between the church and the retiree to restore the house to its original condition and settle the outstanding rent, Pastor Emelike noted that what they needed was more time.

He said, “Nobody told her they would not pay her anything. We have told her to give us six months to fix the building. As a matter of fact, what was even the status quo of the building? It was a dilapidated building where refuse was being dumped. We rebuilt it and fixed it into a church. It was in a partition, and we had to open it into a hall.

“We indeed agreed to restore it to a three-bedroom apartment, and we never denied that. What she’s doing now is completely outrageous. We are willing to pay her. Shouldn’t a church embody the values it preaches? All we are asking for is that she gives us the time to do it.” (The PUNCH)

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