Name: Demolitions in Lagos, Nigeria, leave thousands homeless
Uploaded: 2026-01-29T18:34:51.150Z
Duration: 3 min 25 s
Description: Makoko is located on the shores of Lagos Lagoon. Thousands of people in the informal settlement were left homeless after the Lagos State Government demolished hundreds of homes, insisting the structures were unsafe.

Makoko is located on the shores of Lagos Lagoon. Thousands of people in the informal settlement were left homeless after the Lagos State Government demolished hundreds of homes, insisting the structures were unsafe.

Lagos

Thousands of residents in Makoko, a densely populated waterfront settlement in Lagos, Nigeria, have been left homeless following government-led demolitions. Human rights organizations report that three people, including two infants, died after authorities used tear gas on protesters during the operation. 

Residents describe losing homes, businesses, and community infrastructure, with no prior notice or relocation plans provided. While officials state the clearances are for public safety near power lines, residents argue demolitions extended beyond agreed boundaries, and the government has not detailed any resettlement plans for those displaced.

Demolitions in Lagos, Nigeria, leave thousands homeless

Without warning, at the end of last month the excavators came and began eating their way through the wooden houses. Makoko is a densely populated waterfront settlement in Lagos. It is home to hundreds of thousands of people, but human rights organizations say that by the time the government operation ended on January the 23rd, three of them were dead, including two infants, after authorities used tear gas on residents protesting the demolitions. Please tell the whole world what is happening. My business collapsed, I have nowhere to go, we need help. This woman says the roof was ripped from her home but she has to spend the night here because she has nowhere else to go. Others were left to salvage whatever could still be saved before the demolition reached their homes. Xavier runs a community school. Now he's moving the desks to dry land and his belongings to this boat which has become home for his family. I spent 10 years of my life here to build this school. This is a structure that accommodates 650 children. We bring them in, we give them food, we teach them and we drop them back. So they want to demolish it when we don't have anywhere to go. They don't give us any letter, they don't try to have a meeting with us, don't have a relocation plan, nothing like that. And the demolitions have destroyed livelihoods too. All the fish I smoked in my house were destroyed, such as hake, croaker and sole, all of them were destroyed. I fainted that day and people had to revive me. What you see here was given to me on credit. That's how I made my living. Officials insist declarances were only out of concern for public safety and have hit back at the criticism. We're not demolishing the whole of Makoko. We're clearing people to not to get to Thote Melambi and to stay off behind the high tension. But residents understood that there was an agreed 100 metre setback from the power lines and say the demolitions extend well beyond that. This is the bone of contention. The flag post marks a 100 metre setback from the power line, a boundary which the government says it has repeatedly warned residents not to build beyond. The demolitions did not stop there. It has moved over 200 metres away from the agreed marker. Authorities have not publicly acknowledged any change to the setback distance. Officials maintain the clearance is guided by safety regulations and planning law around power transmission lines. So far, the government has only said that it has plans for those who have been displaced by the demolitions, but with no details on offer. Affected residents in Makoko face a very uncertain future. you

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