MAKOKO WATERFRONT DEMOLITION – PROTESTERS DEMAND IMMEDIATE STOPPAGE AND ADEQUATE COMPENSATION

PROTESTERS STORM LAGOS STATE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY ALAUSA, DEMANDING IMMEDIATE STOPPAGE OF DEMOLITION OF MAKOKO WATERFRONT AND ADEQUATE COMPENSATION FOR VICTIMS

Makoko residents stormed the Lagos State House of Assembly, Alausa, Ikeja for a two-day protest between Thursday January 15 and Friday January 16, 2026, demanding an end to the ongoing demolition of houses in their community and adequate compensation for the displaced families and those who lost the loved ones in this unlawful and violence act by the Lagos State Government. Sadly, the dead include babies.

By Mayowa Onabule

Makoko is a waterfront community in Lagos. The government originally promised the community people that the demolition exercise would be within 30 meters from a high tension powerline. The community people agreed to the plan. However, contrary to this promise, the government in December 2025 brought in bulldozers with security operatives and thugs to begin to demolish structures even beyond 100 meters from the powerline. According to the community people, the exercise is now even over 250 meters. Houses, schools, clinics and means of livelihood of the community people have been demolished.

The exercise was couched in the language of safety and development. But in reality, as the past experiences like Maroko and similar communities in Lagos have shown, it is to grab land from the poor and allocate it to the rich, ruling party stalwarts and top government functionaries.

Indeed, at present Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s government is on a demolition spree. Makoko community are just the latest victims. Residents and business owners in Oworonshoki. Owode Onirin, Otodogbami, Otumara, Ajegunle etc have been callously displaced. And, all these exercises have been carried out in brazen violation of court orders and without prior provision of alternative accommodations and adequate compensation.

The Makoko protesters carried placards with inscriptions such “Please hear our cry”, “Please maintain 100 metres”, “Protect our homes, save our families” and “Immediate stop of demolition beyond 100m”, while chanting solidarity songs, making it clear and loud that the Lagos State government had broken promises it made them.

Earlier on Sunday, January 11, police from the Rapid Response Squad, a unit of the Nigeria police working directly for the Lagos state government, had arrested the community youth leader Oluwatobi Aide for peaceful protesting the unjust demolition. He was locked up until Wednesday January 14 when he was to be arraigned in court on trumped-up charges. However, the charges were dropped and he was released following intense pressure mounted on the state government and the police by activists, lawyers and civil society organisations, which the members of Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM) helped mobilise and coordinate. Two members of the DSM stand sureties for him. Especially commendable was the intervention of lawyers from Femi Falana Chambers, Joseph Opute Chambers and Inibehe Effiong Chambers as well as organisations like CEE-HOPE and CAPPA.

We call on all communities affected by the unjust demolition by the Lagos government to come together for a joint mass struggle to demand immediate stoppage of the exercise and adequate compensation including provision of alternative decent accommodation for the victims. Adequate compensation to be demanded is not the ordinary palliatives that Governor Sanwo-Olu has promised to offer to the Makoko victims for instance.