Residents of Oworonshoki, under the Kosofe Local Government Area, have accused the Lagos State Government of betrayal after their houses were demolished despite submitting documents and beginning restructuring processes demanded by authorities.
Appearing on Channels TV’s Morning Brief programme on Wednesday , the Chairman of a Community Development Association, Balogun Jamiu, said residents were left in shock when bulldozers moved in at night.
“The demolition came to us as a surprise. Because although we are notified that we should restructure our houses, and which we have proof, as in we start doing that, repairing our houses,” Jamiu said.
He narrated how many residents invested heavily in their homes to meet government requirements.
“There’s a woman in our area that sold her house at Ikorodu to repair the one at Oworonshoki here.
“Unfortunately, as I speak to you, the house has been demolished. The woman she’s in the hospital like this, receiving treatment, which is very painful,” he added.
Jamiu insisted that most affected property owners already had valid documents.
“Like mine, particularly, I have C of O. Many of us have C of O. They will now start demolishing our houses, which is uncalled for,” he said.
Another resident, Femi Badewa, said the demolition began in the middle of the night without notice.
“I was shocked when someone called me and told me that the task force are coming that very Friday to come and demolish our house. I said it’s not possible.
“But at exactly 1am, the demolition started. We were like, Wow, is this real? Can this be true?” Badewa said.
He alleged that the demolition was suspiciously carried out,”That very day, they came with, for a policeman, their vehicle had no plate numbers.
“No address from any division,” he said.
Badewa accused land grabbers of being behind the demolition. When asked who ordered the demolition,”Land robbers. Land grabbers, I mean. They are the ones,” he said.
Another resident told Channels TV in a separate interview that she was asked to meet with a traditional ruler after government officials denied knowledge of the notices pasted on their houses.
“He said all he needs from us is to go and make our house standard.
“That he needs standard houses in this area because the Third Mainland Bridge is very close to this place.
“He wants beautiful houses, he doesn’t want Face me I Face you,” the resident said.
She added that she sold her only property in Ikorodu for N10m to rebuild her Oworonshoki home.
“I was just shouting my son’s name. Before I came out, they have already at the fourth house there. We couldn’t pack anything.
“They didn’t allow us. It was only the box of my documents that I was able to take out,” she said.
She accused the government of failing to follow due process,” as a civil servant, even in LAWMA, if you want to seal a company, you will still give them seven days, from seven days, three days, 24 hours.
“They did not give us an abatement notice.”
The Lagos State Government, however, maintained that the structures were illegal.
Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Oluyinka Olumide, at a press briefing on Tuesday, ruled out compensation for the displaced residents.
“There is no plan by the state government to compensate Oworonshoki residents who were displaced in the demolition of illegal structures.
“However, the governor has the prerogative power to approve compensation,” Olumide said.
He explained that the demolitions were part of broader reforms to reclaim informal spaces and curb environmental threats from illegal dredging and construction along the waterfront.
Last Saturday, officials of the Lagos State Building Control Agency demolished houses along the Iyana Oworosonki coastline.
The action triggered protests on Monday, with aggrieved residents blocking a section of the Third Mainland Bridge.
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It took the intervention of the Lagos Police Command to restore normalcy at the scene.
Some protesters lamented that they were teargassed as the police made efforts to quell the protest, a claim corroborated by the police authorities, who admitted using “minimal force.”