A civil society organization, Safe Habitat, has called on the Lagos State Government and relevant stakeholders in the state to show serious interest at the rate aliens from neighbouring countries and criminals fleeing from other parts of the country are creating illegal settlements in some riverine communities in the state.
The group, with focus on environmental safety, in a statement by its Executive Director, Ade Williams, on Saturday said: “We are concerned about information reaching us that some aliens and criminals fleeing from law enforcement agencies have formed the habit of creating illegal settlements and shanties in some water front communities especially in Eti-Osa local government area of the state, where they constitute environmental nuisance and launch criminal attacks against residents of Lekki, Ikoyi, Victoria Island and others.”
Williams said the earlier government and other stakeholders take decisive action against such settlements and shanties, the better for the environment, lawful residents and business development of the area and the state as a whole.
The CSO commended the state Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, for taking similar action last year to rid Ikoyi and Victoria Island of such environmental nuisance.
Williams said past governments in the state had summoned the same will to cleanse Kuramo Beach of criminal activities in 2007 by dislodging illegal settlers erecting shanties there.
He said: “We recall that some concerned residents of Eti Osa had petitioned complaining of the incessant harassment, nuisance and robbery perpetrated by the occupants of the shanties at Ebute-Ikate, Elegushi. Following that, the Ikate Elegushi Residents Association also wrote another petition to the Lagos State Task Force, Alausa, Ikeja, to further complain about the unwholesome activities of the occupants of the shanties in the same community.
“We can also remember that sometimes in September 2014, a fight reportedly broke out at the shanties at Ebute Ikate, Ikateland between rival groups of Delta/Eastern extraction on the one hand and their Egun counterpart on the other as a result of which one Ogosu, the Egun cult leader allegedly killed one Daniel Edet who belonged to the rival group; but due to the timeous intervention of policemen from Ilasan Police Station, the clash was prevented from escalating into a full-fledged internecine, tribal war.
“These are just a few of the several incidences of environmental nuisance in that part of the state we can mention now, in addition to the current security threat these shanties constitute to the entire state at the moment. We dare say that it will be in the interest of everyone if the state government and the relevant stakeholders will be pro-active now and save residents and the environment of further nuisance by removing these shanties and dislodging their illegal occupants.”
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