In what could be termed as a surprise raid, officials of Lagos State government, accompanied by battle-ready policemen on Wednesday, made good its eviction threat by storming Otodo-Gbame community, a peaceful fishing settlement on the edge of the Lagos Lagoon in Lekki Phase I and razed it down.
The demolition of the community made up predominantly of Eguns and other ethnic minorities in Lagos, came a month after Lagos State governor, Akinwumi Ambode, announced his administration’s intention to demolish “shanties” along waterfronts across the state.
Although, the exercise started on Wednesday, residents were, however, optimistic that they had seen the worst of the demolition. To their surprise, the exercise continued till the early morning of Thursday, which they said, has rendered over 10,000 people homeless.
Their optimism was hinged on an existing order of an Ikeja High Court, which on November 7, 2016, restrained the state government and the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, from demolishing waterfront communities, including Otodo Gbame, or evicting residents therefrom.
However as evening fell in Otodo Gbame on Wednesday, the hope of reprieve for the thousands of residents were dashed.According to Edukpo Tina, a young woman in Otodo Gbame, “police came again after midnight with bulldozers and started breaking everywhere, putting fire on people’s houses. They were seriously beating our people and threatening to shoot unless we leave. All of us are on top of water now, there is nowhere for us to go.”
Another resident, Joseph Ando, alleged that a gang of boys with reported ties to the Elegushi Chieftaincy Family on Wednesday morning invaded the community and began setting fire to houses.
“When police arrived the scene later, the boys chased away those bringing water to quench the fire and helped to set more structures on fire. Four persons – two women, one man and a child – reportedly drowned as they rushed into the water.
“It was only when help from other Egun communities around Lagos Lagoon such as Makoko and Oke Ira Nla arrived that residents succeeded in putting out the fire and the police went back.”
Reacting to the development, Megan Chapman, Co-Director at Justice & Empowerment Initiatives (JEI), said over 10,000 people were rendered homeless as a result of the exercise.
“By the time JEI arrived in Otodo Gbame, about a third of the community, an estimated 800 structures had been razed to the ground and fires were still smoldering across the area. An estimated 10,000 people were rendered homeless in a matter of hours and dozens of people huddled in boats off the shore of the community.
“At least, 15 police vehicles were on ground and about 1:30p.m., the Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, arrived at the scene for inspection and ordered the community to be sealed.
“Shortly after midnight yesterday, JEI received reports from residents that the police had returned to continue demolition. JEI-Nigeria strongly condemns the actions of the police.
“We also decry the extremely false and misleading press release issued by the police that seeks to characterize their action as a “rescue,” while announcing that the community in question will be taken over by the Lagos State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development,” the human right group noted.
But a government source said the exercise was carried out after the residents were given an eviction notice. The source could not, however, ascertain the existence of a court order restraining the state from carrying out the action.
