Inquiry Line (Signal only)

Live Broadcast

An HTTP error occurred during file retrieval. Error Code: 405

9000 being made Destitute in Lagos State in preparation for Deportation to Igboland says Amnesty International

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Pinterest
Pocket
WhatsApp
Amnesty International

Amnesty InternationalTens of thousands of Nigerians risk being made homeless as part of redevelopment plans in Lagos, Amnesty International said in a report.

 

The rights group said 9,000 people have already been forced from their homes during the first phase of the plans.
“The effects of February’s forced eviction have been devastating,” said Amnesty’s Oluwatosin Popoola.

A local official told the BBC that displaced residents would get priority when new houses became available.
Slums have sprung up all over Lagos as a result of people pouring into the overcrowded city in search of work.
Amnesty has published satellite images showing what it said was “a densely populated area” that was razed to the ground in February.

The group said it took the images to disprove claims by government officials that the affected area was a rubbish dump.

Amnesty said residents were now sleeping in the open, at risk of disease and bandits, and that thousands of people have lost their livelihoods along with their homes.
The report calls on Lagos authorities to halt the forced evictions.

According to the BBC, the sight of bulldozers moving into slum areas at dawn and flattening people’s homes is a familiar scene, happening more and more in cities across the continent.

Bringing some order to this chaotic city of more than 15 million people is a huge challenge for the state government, our correspondent says.

Critics say the wealth gap is widening as those forced from their homes can only dream of owning an apartment in the new developments that are replacing the city’s slums.
“We want the state government to remember that we are not animals,” Tunde Aworetam, a pastor in the affected community, is quoted as telling a news conference.

Commissioner for Housing Bosun Jeje, told the BBC the authorities were trying to improve the living conditions of the people in the area.

“I went there personally before we cleared the place and I can tell you if you look at the video and you look at the documentary before we cleared the place you couldn’t find a single housing structure except the shanties that were there,” he said.

But he said the government had been talking to the people and “addressing the problems”. He said the displaced residents would be given priority when new houses become available for rent.

Facebook Comments
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Pinterest
Pocket
WhatsApp

Never miss any important news. Subscribe to our newsletter.

Recent News

Follow Radio Biafra on Twitter

Editor's Pick