Amnesty Int'l: Lagos Forcibly Evicted 30,000 from Homes in Defiance of Court Order · Your report is biased, inaccurate and exaggerated, says LASG

Sunday Okobi

Eleven persons were killed while 17 went missing when unidentified armed men attacked the Otodo-Gbame community in Lekki, Lagos State, even as the state government forcibly evicted 30,000 persons from their homes in the community, the Amnesty International (AI) has alleged.

The international human rights watchdog group lamented that the state government came to evict the people soon after the community was burnt down by the unknown gunmen who are still at large.

In its reaction, the Lagos State Government in a statement made available to the media yesterday acknowledged the Amnesty International's (UK) latest report but rejected it for its apparent bias, inaccuracies and exaggerations.

According to a new report released by the AI tagged: ‘The Human Cost of a Megacity: Forced Evictions of the Urban Poor in Lagos’ which details the repeated forceful evictions both at Otodo-Gbame and Ilubirin communities, AI said the actions were carried out in defiance of court orders.

Amnesty International Nigeria’s Country Director, Osai Ojigho, said: “These ruthless forced evictions are just the most recent examples of a practice that has been going on in Nigeria for over a decade in complete defiance of international law.

“For the residents of these deprived communities, many of whom rely on their daily fishing to make a living, the waterfront represents home, work and survival. Forced evictions mean they lose everything-their livelihoods, their possessions and in some cases, their lives.”

Ojigho stressed that the state government authorities “must halt these attacks on poor communities who are being punished for the state’s urban planning failures. The instability and uncertainty created by forced evictions is making their lives a misery as they are left completely destitute.”

Amnesty International also lamented that the matter is made worse because no alternative was provided for the evicted residents nor was any compensation provided for them a situation which has forced almost 5,000 of the people who refused to leave their ancestral home to sleep in canoes or out in the open covering themselves with plastic sheets when it rains.

When confronted on the issue, the Amnesty International said that the state government’s explanation for the action have being inconsistent as in one breadth the government denies responsibility for the forced evictions, blaming them on communal clash that resulted in fire outbreak, but in another breadth, it claims the demolition were intended to stem the rising cases of kidnappings in the state, alleging that the irregular structures in the area serve as hideouts for criminals.

It regretted that the forceful eviction was done without prior notice, provision of compensation or alternative housing for the people, an action which is contrary to Nigeria’s international legal obligations, Ojigho stated.

“There must be a moratorium on mass evictions until the state government has regulations in place that ensure evictions comply with international standards. Finally, the authorities must urgently launch an investigation into the whereabouts of all those reported missing following the Ilubirin and Otodo-Gbame forced evictions,” she concluded.

The A I report is based on 18 field investigations by researchers and was carried out over a 19 months period. It included 124 people and analysis of photo, videos and documents such as hospital and court rulings.

It said eight meetings were held with officials of the state government while 17 officials and officers of the Nigerian Police were also interviewed.

However, in its reaction, the state government in a statement made available to acknowledged the Amnesty International's (UK) latest report but rejected it for its apparent bias, inaccuracies and exaggerations.

The government therefore clarified that 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, adding that 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.

According to the statement, “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 public. The court judgement in favour of the plaintiff has since been appealed with related applications for stay of action."