Spaces for Change (S4C) has described Monday’s demolition Tayib residential buildings, a school, and a church in the Lekki area of Lagos State as a daylight display of gross injustice and inhumanity, which should not go unchecked.
Condemning the act, yesterday, the civil society organisation (CSO) called for immediate government action to give the victims a closure.
A task force, comprising Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) and Ministry of Environment and Water Resources, had descended on homes, a school, and a church in an underserved community behind Jakande Housing Estate in Lekki on March 11 and turned them to rubble, displacing thousands of residents.
The bulldozers struck, reportedly, in response to the government’s “coastal alignment” efforts and poor sanitation concerns in the community.
S4C Communication Officer, Joachim Onwe, said: “There was no evidence of drainage blocking nor was the community the closest settlement to the sea. Evidently, there are other highbrow settlements closer to the sea, which were not considered in this demolition.
“This callous demolition violates their fundamental human rights of ownership of private property and human dignity, as protected by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR).
“It is almost impossible not to think of this demolition as a case of the government wielding its coercive powers against the poor, marginalised and most vulnerable citizens.”
According to him, the demolition is a demonstration of the deep insensitivity of the government to the current harsh economic realities in the country.
On her part, the Executive Director of S4C, Victoria Ibezim-Ohaeri, called on the state government to consider the country’s economic climate and do the needful by giving the victims a closure.
She said: “We, therefore, call on the government of Lagos State to take immediate steps to pay compensation and provide adequate succour in the form of medical and humanitarian assistance to these victims to cushion their respective losses.
“We also demand that steps should be taken to ensure that this daylight display of gross injustice, insensitivity and inhumanity does not go unchecked.”
