--- description: The Nigerian capital has shut down 70 churches and 20 mosques in an effort to tackle the growing city's noise pollution problem title: Lagos Shuts Down Churches for Being Too Noisy image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt74769b090d1fb60c/69889a525f570fd945b21917/gettyimages-50917998.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Nigeria](/tag/nigeria/) ## Nigeria Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Churches in Lagos Are So Noisy They Sometimes Get Shut Down by [Casey Quackenbush](/author/casey-quackenbush/) ## Casey Quackenbush Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 1, 2016 5:24 AM CUT  Nigerian Christians pray together at the City of David Church in Lagos, Nigeria, on Sept. 28, 2003 Nigerian Christians pray together at the City of David Church in Lagos, Nigeria, on Sept. 28, 2003Jacob Silberberg—Getty Images by [Casey Quackenbush](/author/casey-quackenbush/) ## Casey Quackenbush Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 1, 2016 5:24 AM CUT In an effort to muffle the clamor of 17.9 million people living in Lagos, the Nigerian capital has had to shut down 70 churches, 20 mosques, 10 hotels, and various pubs and clubs. Africa’s largest city — projected to [double](http://www.prb.org/pdf15/2015-world-population-data-sheet%5Feng.pdf "undefined") in size by 2050 — is also vibrantly religious, consumed by blaring traffic jams up against Muslim calls to prayer and choirs of loud Church singing, the BBC reports. The Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LEPA) says worshippers of whatever denomination are being prohibited from praying in makeshift buildings and tents. “Enforcement is a continuous exercise and we have set a target for ourselves,” LEPA general manager Bola Shabi [said](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-36673985 "undefined"), adding that the goal was to render Lagos free of noise pollution “by the year 2020.” Nigeria is about 50% Muslim and 40% Christian. \[[_BBC_](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-36673985 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4390836/lagos-shuts-mosques-churches-noise-pollution-nigeria/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4390836/lagos-shuts-mosques-churches-noise-pollution-nigeria/"},"headline":"Churches in Lagos Are So Noisy They Sometimes Get Shut Down","datePublished":"2016-07-01T05:24:44.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T23:00:15.504Z","description":"The same applies to mosques","url":"https://time.com/4390836/lagos-shuts-mosques-churches-noise-pollution-nigeria/","keywords":["Nigeria","Africa","Religion","Lagos"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt74769b090d1fb60c/69889a525f570fd945b21917/gettyimages-50917998.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Casey Quackenbush","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/casey-quackenbush/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt74769b090d1fb60c/69889a525f570fd945b21917/gettyimages-50917998.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Evangelical And Pentecostal Christianity Spreads Through Nigeria","caption":"Evangelical And Pentecostal Christianity Spreads Through Nigeria","creditText":"Jacob Silberberg—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/nigeria/","name":"Nigeria"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4390836/lagos-shuts-mosques-churches-noise-pollution-nigeria/","name":"Churches in Lagos Are So Noisy They Sometimes Get Shut Down"}}]}] ```