By Abdullahi Lukman
Civil society organisations have condemned the Lagos State Government’s ongoing demolition of homes in the Makoko waterfront community, citing reported deaths, mass displacement of residents and the arrest of a community leader.
In a joint statement issued on Tuesday, January 13, 2026, the Centre for Children’s Health Education, Orientation and Protection (CEE-HOPE) Nigeria, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) and Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) said the demolitions had allegedly led to the deaths of two babies and an adult, the destruction of thousands of homes and the displacement of more than 10,000 people.
The groups also raised concern over the arrest of Oluwatobi Aide, a youth leader in Makoko, who was reportedly detained on Monday, January 12, 2026, after appealing to demolition officials to allow residents time to retrieve their belongings.
He is said to be held at the Area F Police Station in Ikeja after initially being taken to the Rapid Response Squad office in Alausa.
According to eyewitness accounts cited in the statement, Aide’s arrest followed his attempt to seek restraint from security agents after demolitions reportedly extended beyond the originally stated corridor around power lines.
The groups said his health has worsened in detention after he was tear-gassed during the demolitions and hospitalised last week.
HOMEF Director, Nnimmo Bassey, described the demolitions and arrests as an attack on vulnerable urban communities, accusing the state government of disregarding the rights and welfare of low-income residents.
The organisations alleged that since January 5, armed security personnel, demolition teams and bulldozers have repeatedly invaded Makoko, a historic fishing settlement on the Lagos Lagoon with an estimated population of over 100,000.
They claimed that homes were destroyed with little or no notice, tear gas was used on residents and several people were injured, with three deaths so far reported.
They further stated that more than 3,000 houses, along with schools, clinics and places of worship, have been demolished, forcing displaced residents, including children, to seek shelter in boats, churches, schools and open spaces.
CAPPA Executive Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi, said the scale of the demolitions contradicts earlier assurances by the Lagos State Ministry of Urban Development that the exercise was limited to structures near power lines, adding that areas outside the stated corridors had also been affected.
CEE-HOPE Executive Director, Betty Abah, noted that Makoko is one of several low-income communities affected by similar demolitions across Lagos in recent years, often carried out without adequate notice, consultation or resettlement plans.
The groups described the demolitions as unconstitutional and in violation of national and international human rights standards.
They called for an immediate halt to the exercise, the release of detained community members, an independent investigation into the reported deaths and alleged abuses, and adequate compensation and resettlement for affected residents.
They urged the Lagos State Government to adopt a rights-based and inclusive approach to urban development, warning that forced evictions without humane alternatives would deepen the state’s housing crisis and undermine social stability.
