LAGOS, Nigeria — Police in Lagos fired teargas on Wednesday to disperse more than 1,000 protesters who blocked sections of a major road near the state’s House of Assembly in Alausa, as anger mounted over the demolition of homes in waterfront and informal settlements across the commercial hub.
The demonstrators — many of them recently displaced residents from communities including Makoko and nearby settlements — accused authorities of tearing down homes without adequate notice, compensation or resettlement plans. Chanting slogans and holding placards, they demanded the Lagos State Government take responsibility for families left homeless and for livelihoods disrupted by the clearances, which residents say wiped out businesses, fishing operations and small trading networks tied to the lagoon economy.
Among those affected is Akintimeyin Iyadily, who said bulldozers reduced her home in Otumara to rubble along with a church run by her husband. “My house was demolished in Otumara community… it was all demolished with all our belongings. We don’t have anything,” she said.
Witnesses and local reporting said the crowd began scattering after officers moved in and launched teargas canisters. Reuters reported at least one demonstrator suffered a leg injury and was taken to hospital. Police did not immediately comment in that report.
Lagos State authorities say the demolitions are part of enforcement efforts targeting structures deemed illegal and unsafe — particularly buildings erected along waterways and beneath or near high-voltage power lines. Officials argue the removals are necessary to uphold urban planning laws, reduce environmental risks and curb flooding in high-risk zones in a city that routinely faces severe seasonal inundation.
The latest crackdown has reignited a long-running debate over housing rights in Lagos, a megacity of more than 20 million people where rapid growth has pushed millions into informal settlements. Makoko — a historic fishing community with widely varying population estimates — has been repeatedly targeted for clearances, drawing criticism from rights groups who say forced evictions violate due-process safeguards and deepen poverty when governments fail to provide alternative accommodation.
Nigeria’s National Human Rights Commission has also raised concerns about the human-rights implications of the ongoing demolitions, calling attention to the need for lawful procedures and protections for affected residents.
