LAGOS: Residents displaced by ongoing demolitions in parts of Lagos State on Wednesday staged a protest at the Lagos State House of Assembly, demanding an immediate halt to evictions and compensation for affected families.
The protesters, drawn from Makoko, Oworonshoki, Otumara and Baba Ijora communities, carried placards with inscriptions such as “Stop the demolitions,” “Stop punishing the poor” and “Our lives also matter.”
Speaking for the protesters, Mr Zikora Ibeh, Assistant Executive Director of Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), accused the state government of carrying out demolitions without adequate resettlement plans. He said the exercise had gone beyond initial safety agreements, displacing thousands and worsening what he described as a growing humanitarian crisis.
Ibeh also alleged that the police arrested several protesters, including a youth leader, Hassan Taiwo, popularly known as Soweto. He said the demonstration was aimed at demanding an immediate stop to evictions, compensation for displaced residents and enforcement of the agreed 100-metre setback from high-tension power lines in Makoko and other communities.
The activist further accused the police of firing teargas canisters to disperse protesters and claimed that some lawmakers watched as demonstrators were allegedly dragged and maltreated by security operatives.
Reacting, the Chairman of the House Committee on Information, Mr Stephen Ogundipe, dismissed the allegations, saying the Assembly neither ordered the use of teargas nor authorised arrests or force against protesters.
Ogundipe, who represents Oshodi-Isolo Constituency I, said lawmakers withdrew from the Assembly gate on the advice of the Commissioner of Police to prevent confrontation and escalation.
He described claims that lawmakers watched the use of teargas and live ammunition as false, sensational and unsupported.
According to him, the Assembly was officially on recess at the time of the protest, but four lawmakers present within the complex were mobilised to engage the protesters.
He alleged that during the engagement, Hassan Taiwo became confrontational and verbally abusive, making what he described as reckless and defamatory accusations against lawmakers and the Commissioner of Police.
Ogundipe reaffirmed the Assembly’s commitment to peaceful civic engagement and democratic rights, but warned that intimidation, misinformation and attempts to breach secured government facilities could not be justified under the guise of protest.
