Daystar renovated 5 schools hit by Ikeja Cantonment blasts

Daystar Christian Centre, led by Pastor Sam Adeyemi, says it rebuilt or renovated five public schools damaged in the 2002 Ikeja Military Cantonment explosions in Lagos.

On 27 January 2002, a fire at the armoury of the Ikeja Military Cantonment in Lagos set off a series of explosions that killed more than 1,000 people and damaged homes, businesses and schools nearby. Daystar Christian Centre, the Lagos church founded by Pastor Sam Adeyemi, lists among its completed community projects the renovation of five schools damaged in the blast. Its website dates the explosion to 2001, but it happened in January 2002. An academic study of Pentecostal churches and development, citing a 2013 source, says Adeyemi visited a public school cluster near the barracks about six years after the disaster. He found four of the five schools destroyed and the fifth badly damaged, and the church finished replacing them in about ten months. On his LinkedIn profile, Adeyemi values the rebuilding at about US$1.6 million. That figure is self-reported and has not been confirmed by government or press sources. The names of the five schools and the exact completion date were not found in reliable sources and still need checking, for example with the Lagos State education authorities. Daystar also reports other school support, including facilities at Oregun High School and an annual back-to-school supplies drive.