Human Rights Groups Condemn Lagos State’s “Cruel and Deceitful” Demolitions

Human Rights Groups Condemn Lagos State’s “Cruel and Deceitful” Demolitions

By prince Benson Davies

A coalition of human rights, environmental, and social justice organizations has condemned the Lagos State Government’s systemic and illegal forced evictions, demolitions, and land grabs in underprivileged communities, including Makoko, Oworonshoki, and others. The groups accuse the government of deliberately targeting the urban poor, using brute force and deceit to clear valuable land for elite interests and private mega-developments, without providing adequate notice, consultation, compensation, or resettlement plans.

What is unfolding in these waterfront and informal settlements is not urban renewal as claimed by the state; it is state-created homelessness, engineered through brute force and justified with shifting narratives. These demolitions overwhelmingly target the poor – fishermen and women, traders, women, children, the elderly and persons with disabilities – who have neither the political power nor the economic means to resist. By destroying homes without alternatives, the government has plunged thousands into acute humanitarian distress, exposing families to hunger, disease, illiteracy, violence and death. This is a vicious cycle in which the state creates homelessness and then abandons the victims to survive on their own, which has been shown to also increase crime in societies.

A Pattern of Forced Evictions
These illegal, forcible evictions are not isolated incidents: in Otodo Gbame between November 2016 and April 2017, over 30,000 residents were expelled in defiance of court orders; Oworonshoki in 2023, Orisunmibare in February 2024, Otto in March 2024, and Oko Baba in September 2024 have all been victims of deceit, illegality and cruelty by the Lagos State government.

Ilaje-Otumara and Baba Ijora
In March 2025, government demolition squads visited Ilaje-Otumara and Baba Ijora, leaving over 10,000 people homeless. Residents, who are poor, were evicted without prior notice and forced to flee with no time to collect their belongings, as bulldozers razed their homes, businesses and places of worship. Individuals and families affected are now displaced and sleeping on the streets, and many have lost not only their homes and belongings but also their livelihoods. The destruction of homes, markets, and fishing areas has also severely impacted food security, leaving many struggling to access daily meals.

Oworonshoki
The government of Babajide Sanwo-Olu began its unlawful demolition in Oworonshoki in 2023. In October 2025, hundreds of homes were demolished in the middle of the night when people were in their beds. The Lagos State Government Task Force, comprising officials from the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development and the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), accompanied by heavily armed security operatives, carried out the demolition from about 10pm. Bulldozers pulled down homes with occupants, leaving them with little or no time to gather their belongings. Tear gas was repeatedly and indiscriminately fired, and residents were injured while attempting to flee the scene. Residents who protested and attempted to resist were beaten up, arrested and locked up in Kirikiri and Ikoyi Prisons.
On October 23, 2025, three days before the demolitions began, human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) secured an interim injunction restraining the Lagos State Government, the Attorney General, the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, and LABSCA from further demolishing structures in the community. The order was duly served and acknowledged. But the Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration blatantly disregarded the court and ordered the demolition to proceed. Over 10,000 persons were forcibly thrown out onto the streets.

Makoko
The ongoing demolitions in Makoko, a historic community of over 100,000 residents, started on December 23, 2025, and have affected more than 3,000 homes and displaced more than 10,000 people. Like in Otodo Gbame and Oworonshoki, armed thugs, security personnel and demolition teams with bulldozers descended repeatedly on the community. Homes were set on fire with little or no notice, in some cases while residents were still in their homes. Tear gas was deployed against women, children, and elderly persons, leaving many injured and hospitalised and with about 12 persons, including two babies, reported dead so far. Among the dead are 70-year-old Ms. Albertine Ojadikluno and five-day-old Epiphany Kpenassou Adingban. Schools, clinics, and several places of worship were demolished. At a time when Nigeria already faces a severe out-of-school children crisis. Many displaced residents – including children – are now sleeping in boats, canoes, churches, school buildings, or in the open, exposed to the elements and serious health risks
The government claimed that it served evacuation notices over two years ago, particularly for buildings located about 100 meters from high-tension wires. But as of date, it has demolished homes up to 500 metres from the wires. The law prohibits construction beneath overhead electricity wires, but it also sets minimum distances between buildings and power lines. For 0.415KV and 11KV lines, the distance is 6 meters. For 33KV lines: 10 meters. 132KV lines: 20 meters. 330KV lines: 30 meters. So, the community was even magnanimous in extending the setback from the 30 metres the government originally asked for to 100 metres. Yet, because it had a sinister agenda to grab land, the government of Babajide Sanwo-Olu has gone far beyond that distance, levelling homes, schools, clinics and other amenities and infrastructure that poor people built with their sweat, so that vested interests can grab their land.

Government Neglect
The government has also hypocritically claimed that the demolished communities are an environmental hazard and unfit for human habitation. It failed to mention that, for decades, it has consistently failed in its constitutional and moral responsibility to provide basic infrastructure and social services for residents, including sanitation, potable water, healthcare facilities, quality schools, waste management, and support for safe housing. Instead of addressing these failures, the same government now weaponises its neglect as justification for demolitions, punishing communities for conditions the state itself helped create. From Kenya to South Africa, governments are upgrading informal settlements to improve residents’ quality of life. In Nigeria, the Lagos State government is using violence to illegally acquire land, render citizens homeless and increase crime.

Phantom Palliatives
On Monday, Sanwo-Olu defended the demolitions, saying his government would provide palliatives for Makoko victims. We condemn this heartlessness in its entirety and reject this offer. The residents of Makoko and the other affected communities are not beggars: they are hardworking people who, for years, have been supporting themselves despite the neglect by Sanwo-Olu administration as well as past governments in Lagos state. They do not need handouts. They need their homes, their schools, their clinics and livelihoods back!

Lagos State’s Contempt of Court
Equally troubling is the Lagos State Government’s persistent disregard for the rule of law. In 2017, the Lagos State High Court ruled that forced evictions without proper consultation violate the right to dignity under Section 34 of the Nigerian Constitution. The ruling came after the 2016-17 Otodo Gbame evictions, where thousands of waterfront dwellers were displaced.
Again, in August 2025, Justice F.N. Ogazi of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos, restrained the Lagos State Government, its agencies, and the Nigeria Police Force from carrying out any further unlawful demolitions or evictions in the Makoko, Oko-Agbon, Sogunro, and Iwaya waterfront communities of the State. Delivering the landmark judgment in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/70/2025, the judge granted an injunction to protect the settlements, citing the “continuous threat and fear of imminent demolition” faced by residents. Justice Ogazi also awarded the sum of ₦3 billion in damages against the Lagos State Government and the Nigeria Police Force for previous demolitions, ongoing threats, and the unlawful killing of a community leader. The judgment further restrains police from harassing fishermen carrying out their traditional work on the Lagos Lagoon. The N3 billion remains unpaid, and Sanwo-Olu claims he’s unaware of the judgment.

The Failed $200m World Bank Loan ‘Slum Upgrade’
In 2006, the Lagos State Government identified nine slum communities to benefit from a $200 million development initiative financed by a loan from the World Bank. The Lagos Metropolitan Development and Governance Project (LMDGP) involved building or upgrading schools, hospitals, markets and other facilities in the informal settlements of Agege, Ajegunle, Amukoko, Badia, Iwaya, Makoko, Ilaje, Bariga and Ijeshatedo/Itire. A 2014 Premium Times investigation found that all the government did for Makoko was to sink a borehole that didn’t work and then install an old transformer instead of a brand new one as specified by the World Bank.The project was expected to benefit one million people out of a total state population of around 17 million at the time. By the time it ended in September 2013, the World Bank rated the government’s implementation of the project as unsatisfactory. It is part of the World Bank policy that when slums are upgraded, residents should not be displaced, and inconveniences should be kept to a minimum. Despite this provision, in 2014, barely one year later, the Lagos State Government embarked on an aggressive demolition of major slums across the state,
We recognise that governments have a duty to regulate urban spaces and ensure safety. However, genuine urban renewal must be inclusive, participatory and rights-based. Slum renewal cannot mean slum removal. It must prioritise improving living standards, upgrading infrastructure and securing tenure for residents, not erasing history, culture and livelihoods in the name of development.
For example, in Nairobi, more than 100,000 families live in Mukuru, an informal settlement that has existed since the 1980s despite chronic neglect and the absence of basic services such as water and sanitation. Instead of destroying the community, the government chose collaboration over coercion – working with residents to upgrade the area through restructured housing layouts, new roads and drainage, and the limited relocation of homes situated in high-risk zones. Crucially, most residents were able to remain within their community, protecting their jobs, social networks, and sense of belonging. Cape Town offers a similar lesson. There, informal settlements built on flood-prone land were made safer not through eviction, but through reblocking – rearranging homes to reduce flood risk, prevent fires, and create access routes for emergency response. Lagos can take a cue from these cities.

Our Demands
In light of the above, we urgently demand:
1. An immediate halt to all demolitions and forced evictions with full compliance with existing court orders and future judicial processes.
2. Immediate provision of safe, short-term emergency shelter for all displaced families.
3. Immediate provision of learning support for displaced school children and access to healthcare for those in need.
4. Full compensation for all homes, schools, health facilities and livelihoods illegally demolished.
5. Compensation and redress for victims of brutality and abuse, including families who lost loved ones during the demolitions.
6. Immediate initiation of a transparent, inclusive resettlement plan, developed in consultation with affected communities, for all displaced residents, ensuring access to housing, education, healthcare, livelihoods and basic services.
7. A public apology from Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the Lagos State Government for the harm, violence, deaths, displacement and suffering caused and accountability for the use of force and killings by state agents during the demolitions.

Lagos cannot claim global-city status while treating its poorest residents as disposable obstacles to profit. Development that destroys lives, displaces children and criminalises poverty is neither just nor sustainable. The people of Makoko and other affected communities are not enemies of progress; they are citizens whose rights, dignity and futures must be respected.

Anything less than justice, compensation and resettlement will stand as a permanent stain on Lagos State’s conscience and governance record.

Signed

1. Israel Idowu – Student Coordinator, Makoko Waterfront community
2. Comrade Abiodun Ahmed – Chairman, Owode Motor Spare Parts Market
3. Comrade Tunde Yusuf – Secretary, Ajegunle Peoples Movement (APM)
4. Olanrewaju Olusegun – Secretary, Coalition of Oworonshoki Demolition Victims
5. Betty Abah – Founder, Centre for Children’s Health Education, Orientation and Protection (CEEHOPE).
6. Comrade Alex Omotehinse – President, Center for Human and Social Economic Rights (CHSR)
7. Zikora Ibeh – Assistant Executive Director, Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA)
8. Prince Iwamitighi R. Irowainu – President, Egbe Omo Ilaje Worldwide
9. Opeyemi Adamolekun – Active Citizen
10. Comrade Hassan Taiwo Soweto – Member, #EndbadGovernance Movement, Lagos state