Experts Fault Lagos Oworonshoki Demolition, Demand Urgent Resettlement for Displaced Residents

Operators have called on authorities to urgently provide resettlement and adequate support for victims of the Oworonshoki demolition exercise.

The Executive Secretary of the Association of Housing Corporations of Nigeria (AHCN), Toye Eniola, in an interview with The Punch, said the recent demolitions in Oworonshoki reflected the government’s continued failure to prioritise resettlement, displacing families without a defined plan for relocation or reintegration into the housing system.

He said there were two sides to the exercise but condemned the action, describing it as evidence of poor oversight and weak regulatory coordination by government agencies.

“I am not in support of the demolition because it will increase homelessness and the housing deficit. Engaging in demolition at this stage clearly shows the ineptitude of the government in its oversight, planning, and regulatory responsibilities. What was the government doing before those houses were constructed from the foundation to completion? If they had waited without enforcing the laws that authorised them to demolish those houses, it would have been humane to arrange for the resettlement of the people before demolition,” he said.

He questioned the motive behind the exercise, saying it was suspicious that residents were allowed to develop properties for years without being issued valid permits or titles.

“There are claims that the people were notified before the demolition, but then, who informed them? Why were they not issued appropriate permits and titles after the many years they occupied the area? Why were they not granted the opportunity to regularise their documentation, having been allowed to develop those houses without control? All of this appears like land grabbing, and none of those who lost their houses will have any opportunity for reallocation when the government is ready for redevelopment,” he added.

Similarly, the Chief Executive Officer of Magnificent Choice Services Project and Engineering Limited, Jeremiah Akinsele, urged the Federal Government to carry out the resettlement of affected residents in line with the United Nations Settlement Guidelines.

He said the government must ensure that displaced residents are relocated to appropriate areas with dignity and fairness, emphasising that urban renewal should not be a tool for displacement but a means of improving living conditions.

“The government should ensure that displaced residents are resettled in appropriate locations in line with the United Nations Settlement Guidelines, which emphasise dignity, inclusion, and the right to adequate housing. Urban renewal should not be a tool for displacement but a pathway to improve living conditions, one that places people at the heart of development. Every action taken must reflect empathy, fairness, and accountability,” he said.

He stressed the need for transparency and community participation, warning that without openness and inclusion, urban renewal could easily become an instrument of oppression rather than progress.

Fresh demolition was reported in the Coker and Ojulari areas of Oworonshoki at midnight on Saturday, just hours after the Lagos State Government announced that about 80 property owners had been compensated on Friday. The Lagos State Urban Renewal Agency said more compensation was being planned.

Eyewitnesses said that bulldozers arrived around midnight and worked until dawn under tight security supervision.

The state Attorney General maintained that government agencies could not act on a “verbal notice” of a court decision, insisting that only a formal service of court processes could trigger compliance.

“If there has been any order said to have been violated, my position is that no such order was brought to the attention of any government agency before the act being complained about,” he stated.

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