CSOs Condemn Makoko Demolition, Allege Human Rights Violations

Sunday EhigiatorCivil society organisations have condemned the demolition of parts of the Makoko waterfront community in Lagos, describing the exercise as a violation of human rights and calling on the Lagos State Government to halt further evictions and engage affected residents.This position flowed from a stakeholders’ engagement themed “Community Eviction Halting Dialogue”, organised by the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) in collaboration with Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) and the Centre for Children’s Health Education, Orientation and Protection (CEE-HOPE Nigeria).Speaking at the event, the Executive Director of HOMEF, Nnimmo Bassey, urged the government to adopt a more humane approach to urban development, warning that demolitions without resettlement plans amounted to collective punishment.“What government has to do is support these communities, not destroy them,” Bassey said. “Destroying communities is never a solution. In the case of Makoko, destroying the place with no options given and no discussion about where the people are moving to is like sentencing them to death. This is reprehensible and unacceptable.”He added that civil society groups were monitoring developments closely and would continue to draw national and international attention to what he described as impunity in the handling of waterfront communities.On her part, the Executive Director of CEE-HOPE Nigeria, Betty Abah, said government interventions in a vulnerable settlement such as Makoko should focus on protection and social support, rather than displacement.Abah cited the reported death of a newborn baby during the demolition exercise as evidence of the human cost of the operation.“The first child of a couple lost his life just five days after birth in the course of the demolition exercise, for being born in a marginalised community,” she said.

“This community deserves the very best of protection from the government, but it is unfortunate that the same government facilitated his death barely five days after he was born.”CSOs and residents accused the state government and private interests of carrying out unlawful demolitions and forced evictions, leading to displacement, loss of livelihoods and disruption of social life.Abah who has spent over 13 years working in Makoko and other informal settlements, alleged that demolitions across Lagos were often carried out without notice, consultation or adherence to legal procedures.“What we are witnessing is not development in the interest of the majority of Lagosians,” she said. “It is benefiting a few people who have hijacked the state. Due process is not being followed, and people are being treated as if they do not matter.”Community leaders in Makoko said the current demolition began under the pretext of clearing structures around a power lines but had since extended far beyond what was initially communicated.Evangelist Isaac, a 75-year-old community chief who said he was born in Makoko, told journalists that residents were first asked to move 30 metres from the power lines, then 50 metres, and later 100 metres.“Now it is more than 200 metres, and the demolition is still going on,” he said. “People’s houses have been removed, many are sleeping on boats, and fear is everywhere.”Another community representative, Roderick, said schools, churches, homes and small clinics had been affected, forcing children out of school and disrupting economic and social activities.“Makoko is our home. We are fishermen, traders, artisans, students and labourers,” he said. “Now schools are closed, people are not sleeping in their homes, and fear is on everyone’s face.”He added that some residents had begun dismantling their own buildings to salvage materials before demolition teams reached them.CSOs called on the Lagos State Government to suspend further demolitions, investigate allegations of abuses, and ensure that any urban renewal programme complies with legal requirements on notice, consultation, relocation and compensation.