• CSO urges state govt to halt exercise, resettle affected residents
Two children were reportedly killed on Sunday following the deployment of police officers to Oworonshoki, Lagos, amid renewed demolition exercises by the state government.
The police were stationed along the Third Mainland Bridge and adjoining areas after some residents threatened to disrupt traffic in protest against the demolition of their homes.
Fresh demolitions began around midnight on Saturday, October 25, 2025, in the Coker and Ojulari areas of Oworonshoki, barely 24 hours after the state government announced that about 80 property owners had been compensated. The Lagos State Urban Renewal Agency said on Sunday that further compensation was being planned.
The Guardian observed a heavy police presence from Iyana Oworo to Adeniji Adele. Some residents alleged that the tear gas used to disperse the crowd caused multiple injuries. They claimed that a newborn baby and a five-year-old girl died during the chaos.
A resident, Idris Adeleke, said: “There’s no place to stay again. The leaders of tomorrow cannot go to school because their parents’ homes have been destroyed by the same government that should protect them. They marked buildings some time ago but said nothing until they deployed men past 10:00 p.m. on Saturday to demolish our houses. They didn’t allow us to take any belongings. I’m now homeless, and my children are with my wife somewhere else.”
Another resident, Ismaila Anifowose, lamented: “No notice was given. They came in the night and started breaking our houses. I rented an apartment in Odo Eran and it was demolished. I moved to Alonge, also demolished. I borrowed N400,000 to rent this place, and the government demolished it after one month. I have a wife and five children. We couldn’t even protest for fear of police attack.”
The spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command, Adebimpe Adebisi, said earlier on Sunday that adequate security measures were in place to maintain law and order across the state.
When The Guardian contacted her for further comment, her orderly, Damilola Bokoh, said she was with the Commissioner of Police and would respond later.
Also, a civil society organisation, Spaces for Change (S4C), condemned the demolition of dozens of homes in Oworonshoki, urging the state government to suspend the exercise and comply with existing court orders.
Executive Director of S4C, Mrs Victoria Ibezim-Ohaeri, said: “It is interesting to note that the Oworonshoki matter is pending before the High Court of Lagos State in suit ID/9910GCM/2025. The court had earlier granted an interim injunction on October 23, restraining the state government, the Attorney-General, the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, and LASBCA from further demolishing buildings on Ajileru Street, Ososa Extension, and Toluwalase Extension within the Itesiwaju Ajumoni CDA, Oworonshoki.”
“Defying this court order, the state agencies, together with armed police officers, demolished the buildings and homes in the named communities, leaving residents without opportunities to salvage their belongings. Less than four weeks after selectively demolishing properties and businesses at the Lagos International Trade Fair Complex, this demolition further reinforces the Lagos government’s contempt for the right to property guaranteed under Section 43 of the Constitution.”
S4C urged the Lagos government to halt further demolitions in line with the court’s directive and to compensate, relocate or resettle affected residents. The group also demanded that officers who attacked protesters be prosecuted.
