Lagos Govt Lacks Power To Seize Makoko, Falana Warns

…Coalition Demands Justice For Eviction Victims

Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, on Tuesday warned that the Lagos State Government has no legal authority to seize Makoko or other waterfront communities and hand them over for the benefit of the rich.

Falana spoke at a press conference organised in Lagos by the Coalition Against Demolition, Forced Eviction, Landgrabbing and Displacement in Lagos State, where he condemned what he described as illegal evictions and demolitions carried out across parts of the state.

He said the right to housing is protected under the Nigerian Constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, stressing that no government has the power to render citizens homeless.

According to him, where the government acquires land or developed property for genuine public purpose, it must provide fair compensation and alternative accommodation for affected residents to prevent displacement.

Falana said several judgments by domestic and regional courts had made it clear that no community should be displaced without prior consultation and due process. He alleged that in some cases, demolition exercises were carried out at night while residents were asleep, with security operatives reportedly firing tear gas to disperse people.

He also decried the destruction of schools and medical centres during the demolitions, saying the exercise had worsened the plight of displaced families and forced many children out of school.

The senior lawyer called for immediate compliance with judgments of the Lagos State High Court, the Federal High Court and the ECOWAS Court of Justice in Abuja, which he said had ruled in favour of waterfront communities.

“We are here today to demand immediate compliance with the judgments of the Lagos State High Court, the Fideral High Court, and the Community Court of Justice, ECOWAS Court in Abuja, which have ruled in favour of the waterfront communities,” he said.

Falana said the gathering was also to show solidarity with residents displaced from their homes in Lagos and to send a strong message that arbitrary demolition of settlements inhabited by the poor would no longer be tolerated.

Citing the Land Use Act, he maintained that government cannot lawfully take property from one person and hand it over to another, insisting that such action is illegal.

“The Lagos State government has no power to seize Makoko or any of the waterfront communities, develop same and distribute to the rich,” Falana said.

“This country belongs to all of us.”

Addressing journalists, community members and civil society partners,
the Coalition against Demolition, Forced Eviction, Landgrabbing and Displacement, declared support for Makoko residents opposing a proposed relocation to Agbowa and demanded justice for victims of mass forced evictions across Lagos.

In the statement read by a leader of the Nigerian Slum/Informal Settlement Federation and an evictee from Ilaje Otumara community, Jude Ojo, the coalition said it stood in solidarity with the people of Makoko, who have insisted on remaining in their community and being included in the UN-supported Water Cities Project. It also renewed calls for justice for residents displaced from Makoko, Oworonshoki, Otumara and other communities.

The coalition accused authorities of using misleading processes to frustrate justice after recent evictions, alleging that legal representatives and civil society groups were sidelined while token compensation was paid to only a few victims.

It also condemned what it described as persistent disregard for court orders, including judgments protecting waterfront communities from demolition without consultation and resettlement.

According to the coalition, thousands of displaced families have been left in severe hardship, with many forced to live in makeshift shelters or with relatives, while lands cleared through evictions are turned into luxury developments.

The group called on Lagos residents, Nigerians and the international community to speak out against forced displacement, landgrabbing and what it described as the continued denial of justice to vulnerable communities.

“We will not allow brutality, intimidation, and gaslighting to distract us from our struggle for an end to brutal landgrabbing and urgent, concrete justice for the tens of thousands displaced. We will not stand silently while the government brutalizes and dispossesses, amassing great wealth for the few and pushing the poor masses deeper into poverty,” the statement read.

In her remarks, the Co-Executive Director of Justice and Empowerment Initiatives, Megan Chapman, said the gathering brought together representatives of different evicted communities in Lagos, some of whom had been displaced for many years without compensation or resettlement.

She cited the example of Kura community at Bar Beach, which she said was evicted in 2008 to pave the way for the Eko Atlantic project.
According to her, homes in the community were set ablaze by a task force, while residents were neither compensated nor resettled.

Chapman said the residents of Kura had continued to seek justice since the 2008 demolition, noting that they later secured a judgment, alongside 16 other evicted communities, at the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice.

She, however, lamented that one year after the judgment was delivered and a warrant for execution was served on the Attorney General of the Federation, no compensation had been paid to the affected residents of Kura or the other victorious communities from Lagos and Badia.

She described the situation as a painful example of justice delayed and denied, adding that many communities across Nigeria had continued to endure similar experiences.

Chapman also drew attention to the plight of residents of Otodo-Gbame, who were evicted in 2016 and 2017.
She said despite a court judgment restraining the eviction and directing that residents be resettled, as well as promises made by the Lagos State Government, those affected had yet to be resettled.

According to her, some of the displaced persons later moved to communities such as Sogunro, Makoko and Oworonshoki in search of shelter, only to be confronted by fresh demolitions in 2025 and 2026.

She said some residents had now been evicted two or three times and were still living with pain, loss and family separation, with some forced to sleep in boats.