The
Otodo Gbame community in Nigeria’s financial capital, Lagos, celebrated
a court ruling on Wednesday that said government demolitions of their
homes were illegal.
Residents went to court in October 2016 to
protest the Lagos state government’s plan to demolish their waterfront
communities on the pretext of cutting crime in the megacity.
The
government went ahead with the demolitions in a series of raids across
the city that saw security agents bulldoze homes to the ground and in
April shoot people with live ammunition.
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Judge
Adeniyi Onigbanjo, sitting at the Lagos State High Court, on Wednesday
ruled that the demolitions were unconstitutional and violated the
residents’ rights.
He ordered the state government to hold
consultations with the communities before any further evictions and
provide compensation for the destruction of their property.
“We
are mostly relieved, finally we have a decision,” the residents’ lawyer
Omotayo Enujiugha told AFP outside court, where over 100 community
members had gathered for the verdict.
“We really appreciate the fact that at the end of the day the judge ruled that rights were violated,” he added.
The
case has cast a spotlight on how Nigeria is wrestling with rapid
urbanisation and population growth in its major cities such as Lagos,
which is home to 20 million people.
It is also being seen as a
test of Nigeria’s graft-plagued judiciary, which has a reputation for
siding with the wealthy and famous.
The residents have been given legal support from the non-profit group Justice and Empowerment Initiatives.
Its
co-director Megan Chapman said: “It (the court) found that any
demolition or eviction without adequate notice and provision of adequate
shelter or resettlement to another location is unconstitutional.
“They
ordered that the government must enter into consultation with the
residents if they intend on carrying out any further evictions.
“The court gave a clear court order that no further evictions are allowed until that consultation process continues.”
While
the residents acknowledged the Lagos government may still try to go
ahead with demolitions in the future, they said they were relieved the
court had ruled in their favour.
“I’m very grateful. The fear of
our people was that the whole community would be torn down,” said
Oladipupo Aireomiye, a 38-year-old living in Ebute Ilaje, a community
that was handed its eviction notice earlier this year.
“The judgment gives us hope. At least, for now, we can sleep with our eyes closed.”
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