Groundbreaking of the Benin City Nigeria Temple
Ground was broken for the Benin City Nigeria Temple on May 24, 2025, with Elder Adeyinka A. Ojediran — a General Authority Seventy and first counselor in the Africa West Area presidency — presiding. It was held just two weeks after the groundbreaking of another Africa temple, in Lagos, Nigeria.
At the Benin City temple groundbreaking, Elder Ojediran said: “Temples are sacred places where we make sacred covenants with God and receive blessings for ourselves and our families, living and dead. They are houses of the Lord, places of peace and learning, where we can seek spiritual guidance for crucial decisions and concerns, and where we can receive revelations and draw closer to God.”
Timeline of the Benin City Nigeria Temple
The Benin City Nigeria Temple was announced by Church President Russell M. Nelson on April 5, 2020. Ground was broken for the temple on May 24, 2025, with Elder Adeyinka A. Ojediran presiding.
Architecture and Design of the Benin City Nigeria Temple
According to site plans released by the Church on Sept. 11, 2023, the Benin City Nigeria Temple will be a two-story building of approximately 30,700 square feet. The edifice will stand on a 2.17-acre site in Benin City, in Edo State in central-southern Nigeria. Construction plans include an arrival center and patron housing.