MASS EVICTIONS DISPLACE THOUSANDS IN LAGOS

Francis Vituwa still vividly remembers the event of 10 January 2026. That day, his wooden home in the Makoko waterfront community was demolished by an excavation team from the Lagos state government. He was only able to retrieve a few belongings while much of it became floating debris on the Lagos lagoon. 

‘I feel very bad about the situation,’ Vituwa, 49, told FairPlanet. 

The demolition exercise started shortly before Christmas when water and land-based excavators accompanied by armed police entered Makoko and began demolishing stilt houses. The state government defended the exercise, saying they are demolishing structures near the high voltage power lines, actions it claimed were necessary for public safety. ‘No responsible government anywhere in the world can allow people to live directly under high-tension cables or obstruct vital waterways,’ the state’s commissioner for information and strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, said in a statement.

But Makoko residents say the government failed to honour the initial verbal agreement that demolitions would target houses within thirty to fifty metres of power lines. Now, the demolitions have extended far beyond the target, leaving the people vulnerable. 

‘They want to [forcefully] evict Makoko residents because the point where they stopped is 522 metres,’ Vituwa said.

‘The damage has been done’ 

The continued demolition forced the residents to stage a peaceful protest at the House of Assembly, the state legislature, demanding a halt to the demolition and compensation for the loss. But police dispersed them by firing tear gas. The residents said police also fired tear gas during the demolitions, resulting in the death of five people, including a newborn.  

Benjamin Aide, whose house was demolished on 29 December 2025, said his brother Oluwatobi Aide was arrested while appealing to the demolition team to at least allow residents to retrieve their possessions. ‘My elder brother was detained for four days. They did not allow us to have access to him,’ he told FairPlanet.

The state legislature did intervene on 3 February after it met with the community representatives, ordering the suspension of ongoing demolitions in Makoko.

‘[But] the damage has been done,’ said Betty Abah, the executive director of the Centre for Children’s Health Education, Orientation and Protection (CEE-HOPE), one of the non-governmental organisations that has condemned the demolition. ‘Who is taking responsibility for the deaths of people?’ 

Abah told FairPlanet that the action of the Lagos state government violates the right to life of the people. ‘No reason whatsoever justifies you to pull down people’s houses, throw them into the open, and tear gas them,’ she said, adding that ‘It’s shameful, unimaginable, unacceptable, and totally condemnable for such a thing to happen in a democratic dispensation.’

Since December 2025, more than 3,000 homes have been destroyed and over 10,000 people displaced, according to human rights groups. Although some families have moved inland to stay with friends and relatives, many affected residents sleep in the open. 

Vituwa, for example, sleeps on his boat with his family. ‘When the rain comes, I use a tarpaulin to cover my wife and children,’ the father-of-five, who was born and raised in Makoko, said. 

Housing crisis 

With a 3.4 million unit deficit as of 2025, Lagos, with an estimated population of 22 million, is facing a severe housing crisis. This is largely as a result of a combination of factors such as rapid population growth, rent hikes, and inadequate formal housing. This crisis is pushing many low-income families into informal settlements such as Makoko, which provides low-priced housing options. 

Founded as a fishing village in the 19th Century, Makoko is the largest informal waterfront community in Nigeria. Called the ‘Venice of Africa’ by some, it is estimated that up to 300,000 people live in the floating settlement. Here, there are no government facilities, but the people have managed to survive for decades. Residents typically fish and trade on a small scale.

Vituwa is a fisherman in Makoko. However, he has not gone fishing since the demolition started. And women who mostly smoke fish cannot continue because their smoking racks were lost in the demolition. 

‘Some of my friends outside Makoko have been helpful [by supporting me with food items such as rice],’ he said. 

A prevailing pattern

Forced evictions and mass demolitions of prime waterfront shanty towns are not new in Lagos. Back in 2012, for example, the state government demolished a part of Makoko and only stopped after Timothy Hunpoyanwha, a local chief, was shot dead by police officers.

The state government still maintains this ‘unlawful’ pattern, which often happens without resettlement plans. In 2017, the Lagos State High Court barred the state government from evicting residents from communities without resettlement. Also in August 2025, the Federal High Court in Lagos restrained the state government from the unlawful demolition of waterfront communities, including Makoko.

Yet, the government ignored the rulings. Makoko residents believe the demolition was part of the state government’s plans of turning their community into luxury buildings. According to a BBC report, a 2012 state government letter says the settlement is ‘an impediment to the economic and gainful utilisation of the waterfront’ and undermines the ‘megacity status’ of Lagos.

Beyond the displacement, Abah said the demolition will have a long-term impact on the people, particularly children whose education has been severely impacted.

‘The government is consciously putting children out of school by demolishing their houses and schools. The demolition will have a long-term impact on children because more than five schools were destroyed,’ Abah said. ‘And just like there’s no accountability for people who have died, there is no accountability for children pulled out of school.’ 

Aide, 35, teaches in one of the schools that was demolished. ‘We [currently] don’t have access to all our students; they are scattered,’ he said. ‘It’s devastating.’

Meanwhile, Abah said the residents, including children, need daily food to survive. For this, she said CEE-HOPE has carried out at least five missions since January, donating food items, mosquito nets, detergents, and cash to women.

Vituwa said it is support like this that is currently sustaining affected residents. However, he insists that the Lagos state government must take full responsibility.

‘I am disappointed in the government. [I hope] they compensate and resettle us,’ he said.