HUMAN rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has accused the Lagos State Government of violating a court order by demolishing over 100 properties in the Oworonsoki area of the state.
In a statement on Sunday, Falana said the exercise displaced many families and accused the government of deploying armed policemen and thugs to intimidate residents.
Recall that Adegboyega Balogun, a judge of the Lagos State High Court had issued an interim order last Thursday, restraining the government from carrying out further demolitions in parts of Oworonsoki, after residents complained that they were not compensated for their demolished homes.
The order barred the government, its agents, and contractors from demolishing or creating third-party interests in properties located on Ojileru Street, Ososa Extension, and Toluwalase Street within the Itesiwaju Ajumoni Community Development Area (CDA).
Despite the order, the state went ahead with the demolition on Sunday, a move Falana condemned as a clear case of contempt of court.
“In flagrant breach and contempt of the subsisting court order and upon the service of the court order on them, the defendants mobilised over 50 armed policemen and thugs who fired teargas throughout the night to disperse those protesting the demolition and proceeded to commence a fresh demolition,” Falana said.
The lawyer added that the demolition, carried out “in the dead of night,” destroyed more than 100 properties and echoed a past case in which the Lagos State Government defied a court ruling.
“The action of the demolished squad is a sad reminder of the aggravated contempt committed by the Lagos State Government, 39 years ago, in the celebrated case of The Military Governor of Lagos State & Ors. v. Chief Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu & Anor. (1986) 2 NWLR (PT 18) 621, where the Supreme Court set a precedent against disregard for due process and the rule of law. Notwithstanding that the country was then under a military junta, the Supreme Court deprecated the action of the Lagos State Government in defying a court order and resorting to self-help.
“Even under a military regime, the Supreme Court held that in a country governed by the rule of law, the use of force or self-help by government is unacceptable once a matter is before the court,” Falana recalled.
Meanwhile, the Association of Igbo Town Unions (ASITU) has petitioned the United Nations Human Rights Council, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the ECOWAS Court of Justice over what it described as the “targeted demolition” of shops and properties belonging to Igbo traders and investors in Lagos.
National President of ASITU, Emeka Diwe, who addressed journalists in Umuahia, Abia State, described the demolitions as “economic cleansing,” lamenting that Nigeria was “dying slowly from the cancer of ethnic discrimination and selective justice.”
“We have done this not because we lack faith in Nigerian institutions, but because those institutions have failed to address our documented grievances,” he said.
Diwe said the petition became necessary after repeated efforts to engage relevant Nigerian authorities yielded no response.
ASITU dismissed the Lagos State Government’s claim that the demolished structures were built on waterways, insisting that affected properties were legally acquired and duly approved. “They send a message to investors that property rights in Nigeria are not secure and that ethnic sentiments may influence government actions.
“This undermines investor confidence, economic growth, job creation, and Nigeria’s reputation as a country governed by the rule of law,” he added.
Diwa alleged that many demolition notices were issued too close to execution dates, preventing property owners from seeking legal redress. It also accused officials of ignoring valid documentation presented by affected persons.
“Many of the demolished buildings had valid approvals from the same Lagos State Government that later destroyed them. This is not law enforcement; it is the erasure of livelihoods and the violation of constitutional guarantees meant to protect all Nigerians,” the ASITU declared.
He added that the group’s demand for justice was not about secession but about building economic resilience and promoting mutual respect, unity, and prosperity across Nigeria.
Reacting to the citizen’s outrage, the Lagos State Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, defended the wave of demolitions across the state, insisting that the exercise targeted environmental contraventions and illegal developments, not legitimate homeowners.
Wahab dismissed claims that the government’s actions were politically motivated or aimed at displacing residents, stressing that enforcement was necessary to restore order and protect flood-prone areas.
Similarly, the Lagos State Police Command dismissed reports alleging that its officers attacked residents during a government-led demolition exercise in the Oworonshoki area of Lagos.
The spokesperson of the command, Abimbola Adebisi, said the command viewed the reports as “false and mischievous,” saying they were aimed at misrepresenting the facts and misleading the public.
Adebisi explained that the demolition was conducted by authorised department and task dorce, following due process.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.