By Chioma Obinna

Three prominent civil society organisations, 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 have condemned the Lagos State Government over what they described as brutal and unconstitutional demolitions at the Makoko waterfront, which have allegedly led to the deaths of two babies and a 70-year-old woman.

According to them,more than 10,000 residents have been displaced with a community youth leader arrested.
In a joint press statement on Tuesday, the group said the demolitions reflect a disturbing pattern of disregard for the constitutional rights to life, housing and dignity of marginalised Lagos residents.

They also raised alarm over the continued detention of Mr. Oluwatobi Aide, popularly known as Woli, a Makoko youth leader who was arrested by security agents on Monday, January 12, 2026, and is currently being held at Area F Police Station, Ikeja, after earlier being taken to the Rapid Response Squad office in Alausa.

According to eyewitness accounts, Aide had approached officials of the demolition team to plead for a few hours’ grace for residents to retrieve their belongings after the exercise allegedly extended beyond the earlier announced power-line corridor. Instead of dialogue, he was arrested. The groups said his health has since deteriorated, noting that he had earlier been tear-gassed during the demolitions and hospitalised last week.

Condemning the operation, Director of HOMEF, Nnimmo Bassey, said the demolitions represent a violent assault on the urban poor.
“We view these latest attacks on vulnerable populations as the most violent manifestations of Lagos State government’s contempt for those it treats as human scrap to be cleared for elite profit. The thuggish arrest of community members and forced displacement of families who have always known Makoko as home underscores the helplessness of struggling Nigerians. This assault is comparable to what Nigerians suffer at the hands of bandits in other parts of the country. This state campaign of land-grabbing and displacement is repugnant and must be halted,” Bassey said.

The organisations disclosed that since January 5, armed thugs, security personnel and demolition teams accompanied by bulldozers have repeatedly invaded Makoko, a historic fishing community on the Lagos Lagoon with an estimated population of over 100,000.

They alleged that homes were set on fire with little or no notice, in some cases while residents were still inside. Tear gas was reportedly fired at women, children and elderly persons, leaving many injured and hospitalised.

So far, three deaths have been reported, including 70-year-old Ms. Albertine Ojadikluno and a five-day-old baby, Epiphany Kpenassou Adingban.

The groups further stated that over 3,000 houses have been destroyed, alongside five schools, two clinics and several places of worship, forcing thousands of residents into homelessness.

“Many displaced families, including children, are now sleeping in boats, canoes, churches, school buildings or in the open, exposed to rain, hunger and serious health risks,” the statement said.

Executive Director of CAPPA, Akinbode Oluwafemi, accused the state government of shifting its justification for the demolitions.
“Officials initially claimed the demolitions were limited to 50 metres from power lines, later changed to 100 metres, even though legal standards stipulate 30 to 50 metres. Yet demolitions have extended to Oko-Baba and other areas not under power lines at all. This reinforces fears that the real objective is the wholesale clearance of Makoko,” he said.
CEE-HOPE Executive Director, Betty Abah, said Makoko’s experience reflects a long-standing pattern across Lagos.

“Over the past year, demolitions have hit Oko-Baba, Ayetoro, Otumara, Baba-Ijora, Oworonshoki and Precious Seeds, displacing tens of thousands of low-income residents, particularly women and children. Earlier evictions in Badia East, Otodo-Gbame, Maroko, Monkey Village, Ilaje-Bariga and Ifelodun show a long-standing culture of forced evictions that destroy livelihoods and deepen poverty,” Abah said.

The groups declared that the Makoko demolitions violate Section 44 of the Nigerian Constitution, Nigeria’s obligations under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and international standards against forced evictions without due process.

They called for an immediate halt to all demolitions in Makoko and other affected communities, the unconditional release of Oluwatobi Aide and other detained residents, an independent investigation into the reported deaths and use of force, and adequate compensation, restitution and resettlement for all victims.

Warning of long-term consequences, the organisations said urban development cannot be pursued through violence, fear and dispossession, stressing that clearing communities without humane alternatives would only deepen Lagos’ housing crisis, already estimated at over four million housing units.

They urged the Lagos State Government to abandon coercive tactics and adopt rights-based, inclusive and environmentally sustainable urban development that prioritises human dignity, housing security and livelihoods over land speculation and private profit.

“CEE-HOPE, HOMEF and CAPPA stand in solidarity with the people of Makoko and all communities facing unlawful evictions across Lagos State,” the statement