Lagos waterfront communities demand reversal of demolitions in violation of court orders – EnviroNews

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The Coalition against Demolition, Forced Eviction, Landgrabbing and Displacement in Lagos State says it stands in solidarity with the network of waterfront communities across Lagos that gathered on Monday, June 22, 2026, at the Court of Appeal on the Lagos Island to demand the reversal of the supposedly unconstitutional and illegal demolitions and forced eviction of tens of thousands of waterfront dwellers in violation of subsisting court orders from 2023 to 2026.

On June 21, 2017, Justice Onigbanjo of the Lagos State High Court gave his final judgment in a case brought by waterfront communities across Lagos, including a perpetual injunction restraining the Lagos State Government and the Lagos State Police Command from carrying out further demolitions without consultations and resettlement.

The High Court pronounced that demolitions of long-established communities without such protections, as in the brutal demolitions of Otodo Gbame (November 2016-April 2017), violated the right to dignity enshrined in Section 34 of the Nigerian Constitution.

The Lagos State Government appealed the judgment in 2017, but the courts have refused to suspend the final judgment, which remains fully in force while the case is on appeal.

In an apparent violation of these protective court orders, from 2023 to 2026, the Lagos State Government has systematically carried out mass forced evictions of waterfront communities from Oworonshoki (July 2023 and September 2025-January 2026) to Ilaje Otumara (March 2025), Makoko, Sogunro, and Oko Agbon (December 2025-January 2026) to Baba and Ayetoro (September 2024) and Ago Egun Bariga (January 2026).

On June 22, 2026, the waterfront communities brought these facts to the attention of the Court of Appeal. The presiding Justice Folashade Ojo expressed concern at the Lagos State Government appearing to violate a subsisting court order and asked the lawyer representing the Lagos State Government to restate the final orders of the lower court. When the Lagos State Government claimed not to be aware of any such violations, the presiding judge asked him to go back to the office and make his enquiries very well.

At the next adjourned date in January 2027, the waterfront communities will be moving the court for reversal of all the unconstitutional demolitions in violation of court orders, through a series of court orders for the illegally demolished communities to be rebuilt.

The Coalition called on all residents of Lagos State and the nation to stand with the waterfront communities to demand justice and accountability in the face of rampant impunity and executive lawlessness.

“We must not allow disrespect of court orders and impunity push us into hopelessness. We must stand up and continue the struggle. A luta continua!” stated the Coalition.

The Coalition comprises the Nigerian Slum/Informal Settlement Federation, #EndBadGovernance Movement, and Justice & Empowerment Initiatives (JEI).