By Gabriel Ameh
Civil society organisations—Centre for Children’s Health Education, Orientation and Protection (CEE-HOPE) Nigeria, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), and Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) have strongly condemned the Lagos State Government over the ongoing demolition of homes in the Makoko waterfront community, which has reportedly led to multiple deaths, mass displacement and the arrest of a community youth leader.
In a joint statement issued on Tuesday, the groups described the demolitions as a grave violation of the constitutional rights to life, dignity and wellbeing of marginalised residents who have endured years of neglect by the state.
The organisations expressed particular concern over the arrest of Mr. Oluwatobi Aide, popularly known as Woli, a youth leader in Makoko. According to the statement, Mr. Aide was arrested on Monday, January 12, 2026, by security operatives and is currently detained at the Area F Police Station in Ikeja, after initially being taken to the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) office in Alausa.
Eyewitness accounts cited by the groups indicate that Mr. Aide approached demolition officials to plead for a brief pause in the exercise to allow residents retrieve their belongings after the demolitions reportedly exceeded the originally communicated boundaries around power lines. Rather than engaging with the appeal, security agents allegedly arrested him.
The statement further noted that Mr. Aide, who was tear-gassed during the demolition exercise and hospitalised last week, has suffered a deterioration in his health while in detention.
Condemning the actions, Director of HOMEF, Mr. Nnimmo Bassey, described the demolitions as “violent attacks on vulnerable populations,” accusing the state government of prioritising elite interests over human lives.
“We view these latest attacks on the urban poor as the most violent expression of contempt for people treated as expendable in the pursuit of elite profit,” Bassey said, likening the assault on Makoko residents to the insecurity Nigerians face in banditry-hit regions.
The groups reported that since January 5, 2026, armed thugs, security personnel and demolition teams with bulldozers have repeatedly invaded Makoko, a historic fishing community on the Lagos Lagoon estimated to house over 100,000 residents.
According to the statement, homes were set ablaze with little or no notice—some while occupants were still inside—while tear gas was deployed against women, children and the elderly. At least three deaths have been reported so far, including two babies and a 70-year-old woman identified as Ms. Albertine Ojadikluno. One of the deceased infants was named as five-day-old Epiphany Kpenassou Adingban.
The organisations further claimed that over 3,000 houses have been destroyed, displacing more than 10,000 residents. Five schools, two clinics and several places of worship were also reportedly demolished, leaving displaced families including children sleeping in boats, canoes, churches, school buildings and open spaces, exposed to severe health and environmental risks.
Executive Director of CAPPA, Mr. Akinbode Oluwafemi, accused the state government of contradicting its earlier assurances that the demolitions were limited to structures within a power line corridor.
“Officials initially claimed the exercise was restricted to 50 metres, later changed to 100 metres, despite legal standards generally stipulating a 30–50 metre corridor. Demolitions have now extended to areas not under power lines at all, reinforcing fears of a wholesale clearance of Makoko,” he said.
Executive Director of CEE-HOPE, Ms. Betty Abah, noted that Makoko’s ordeal reflects a wider pattern of forced evictions across Lagos.
She cited similar demolitions in Oko-Baba, Ayetoro, Otumara, Baba-Ijora, Oworonshoki and Precious Seeds, as well as past evictions in Badia East, Otodo-Gbame, Maroko, Monkey Village, Ilaje-Bariga and Ifelodun, which she said had displaced tens of thousands of low-income residents, particularly women and children.
The groups described the Makoko demolitions as unconstitutional, citing violations of Section 44 of the Nigerian Constitution, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and international standards prohibiting forced evictions without due process.
They demanded an immediate halt to all demolition activities in Makoko and other affected communities, the unconditional release of Mr. Oluwatobi Aide and other detained residents, an independent investigation into the reported deaths and use of force, and adequate compensation and resettlement for displaced families.
Urban development, the groups warned, “cannot be pursued through violence, fear and dispossession,” adding that forced evictions only worsen Lagos’ housing deficit—estimated at over four million units—and threaten social stability.
CEE-HOPE, HOMEF and CAPPA said they stand in solidarity with the people of Makoko and called on the Lagos State Government to adopt rights-based, inclusive and humane approaches to urban development that prioritise human dignity over land speculation and private profit.
