Group urges halt to demolition in Lagos
Lagos State Police Command will investigate the circumstances behind the alleged death of an infant and a pre-schooler in the Oworonshoki area of Lagos State.
Officers of Lagos Police Command were reportedly deployed to the Coker and Ojulari areas of Oworonshoki at midnight on Saturday, October 25, 2025 – hours after the state government announced that it had compensated about 80 property owners on Friday, October 24 – and fired teargas canisters while providing cover to officers of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA).
Residents alleged that a woman, who gave birth on that fateful day, lost her child, while the pre-schooler died after inhaling the gas.
The Police Public relations Officer (PPRO), Abimbola Adebisi, said: “The command is not aware of such, but we will investigate and revert. Thanks for the info.”
Meanwhile, the Youth Rights Campaign (YRC), yesterday, asked the state government to immediately halt the demolition of houses in the Oworonshoki, Ajegunle and Makoko areas of the state.
It said the government acted on a subsisting court order granted on October 23, 2025, by Justice A.G. Balogun of the High Court of Lagos in Ikeja, restraining the state government, the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development and LASBCA from further demolishing buildings within Itesiwaju Ajumoni Community Development Area, Oworonshoki.
It said the demolitions were a clear contempt of the court and disregard for the judiciary by a government that ought to be upholding the law and setting a positive example for citizens.
National Coordinator, YRC, Adaramoye Michael “Lenin”, said: “Shelter is a human right. We hereby call for a halt to further demolition and respect for the right of Oworonshoki residents to shelter
“The Lagos State government has a historical antecedent of demolishing houses of the poor and grabbing their lands for the rich. In 1990, Maroko, a slum community that housed over 300,000 Lagosians, was demolished by the Lagos government, making it the largest forceful eviction in Nigeria. The then regime of Raji Rasaki claimed Maroko was below sea level and needed to be sand-filled; however, the excuse was a false pretence to grab the land of the poor for the rich.”
YRC criticised the Commissioner of Police for leaving his men to align with thugs to attack residents and asking residents of Oworonshoki not to protest.
The group added: “The CP, in a bid to justify the activities of his men, referred to those living in Oworonshoki as criminals. This is unprofessional and despicable policing from a senior police officer. The police led attacks against the residents and unleashed havoc on innocent citizens they should be protecting.
“It is our stern belief that by rendering thousands, majority of them children and young adults, homeless, Lagos is exposing them to hardship and terrible conditions that can make people turn to crime or become victims of crime. To be clear, the growing rate of crime in Lagos is partly a product of the poverty and homelessness which has been the fate of thousands. A serious government ought to be addressing this underlying cause of crime instead of compounding an already bad situation.”
