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."
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