London-based non-governmental organisation, Amnesty International has said the eviction exercise by the Lagos State Government in waterfront communities claimed no fewer than 11 lives, with about 17 residents still missing.
AI added that the exercise, carried out by the state government between November 2016 and April 2017, led to the displacement of over 30,000 residents of Otodo-Gbame in Lekki.
The organisation disclosed that about 300,000 residents of waterfront communities are under threat of further forced evictions in the state.
AI claimed that the evictions were carried out in direct violation of court orders issued within the period, stressing that the residents were evicted while they showed Police a copy of the court order that was supposed to prevent government from demolishing their homes.
In the report entitled: “The Human Cost of a Megacity: Forced Evictions of the Urban Poor in Lagos,” released by AI on Tuesday, it argued that the evictions of the Otodo-Gbame and Ilubirin communities were allegedly done without consultation, adequate notice, compensation or alternative houses offered to displaced residents.
During first eviction exercise, the organisation alleged that Police officers and unidentified armed men chased out residents with gunfire and teargas, setting homes on fire as bulldozers demolished them.
It noted that in panic, the residents left their property amid the chaos, adding that during their interview of 97 evicted residents, they claimed that some residents drowned in the nearby lagoon, while scampering for safety.
The organisation disclosed that no fewer than nine persons allegedly drowned during the first eviction and another 15 still remain unaccounted for.
Of the 4,700 residents, who remained in Otodo-Gbame after the eviction, some slept in canoes or out in the open, covering themselves with plastic sheets when it rained.
Meanwhile, 823 residents of the nearby Ilubirin community were forcibly evicted within the same period of the Otodo-Gbame eviction embarked upon by the government.
After being given just 12 days’ notice of eviction, AI claimed that the Lagos State Government officials and dozens of Police officers chased residents out of their homes, and demolished all the structures in the community, using fire and wood cutting tools.
The report stated that the victims subsequently returned to the area and rebuilt their structures, but these were demolished six months later with just two days’ oral notice and no consultation.
But the Lagos State Government in its reaction said the report was biased.
A statement by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Steve Ayorinde, said: “The Lagos State Government acknowledges Amnesty International’s (UK) latest report but would like to reject same for its apparent bias, inaccuracies and exaggerations.
The government therefore clarifies as follows:
“1. The main area of focus in the report – Ilado (which visitors to the State often refer to as Otodo Gbame) has always been a private land and subject of a law suit, which has been decided in favour of the family owners.
“2. It was in November 2016 that inter-ethnic clashes led to the fire incident that got the settlement consumed and not as a result of government-sponsored demolition.
“3. Otodo Gbame was one of the 39 waterfront settlements that took Lagos State to court over its plan to rid its prime waterfront areas of illegal shanties that constitute security and environmental threat to the general public. The court judgement in favour of the plaintiff has since been appealed with related applications for stay of action.
“4. Lagos State Government insists that Otodo Gbame was used as a temporary fishing outpost. The fishermen had their permanent homes in Badagry, Cotonou (Benin Republic) and Lome (Togo). Indeed, many of such people have returned to their homes since the unfortunate fire incident of November 2016. The rest should be encouraged to do likewise rather than spur them on to play the victim, fight legal owners of the land or to demonise government.
“5. The Lagos State House of Assembly did carry out an independent investigation and published its findings, stating clearly that Otodo Gbame was a temporary fishing outpost on the waterways which wanted to illegally appropriate the land that welcomed them on a temporary basis. It is an illegal settlement that should not be allowed to use emotionalism and sensationalism to forcibly take over a private property.
“6. Lagos State Government has no interest in the land whatsoever since it’s a private property. The interest of the State is to rid the prime waterways of shanties and illegal structures, particularly when security intelligence has shown clearly that they are either safe havens or gateways for armed robbers, kidnappers and militants.
“7. Lagos State Government sees a correlation in the reduction of kidnappings through the waterways and creeks of Lagos Island, Ikorodu, Epe, Ojo and the removal of illegal shanties from our prime waterfront areas.
“8. The position of Lagos State Government has been consistent. While government is demonstrably compassionate to the plight of the less privileged and the urban poor and has continued to engage them in useful talks in line with international conventions and treaties, we urge Amnesty International UK to appreciate the fact that government was elected to protect the general public and promote livable environment.”
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