Lagos: Amnesty International condemns violent eviction of Oworonshoki residents

Amnesty International, on Wednesday, faulted the Lagos State government for conducting violent and forced evictions in Oworonshoki, a community in Kosofe Local Government Area.

In a statement posted via its official Facebook handle, the rights group recalled a Tuesday incident involving a newborn and a five-year-old child, reportedly killed as police enforced eviction of residents on the orders of the Lagos state government.

Amnesty International said, “Yesterday’s forced eviction was one of the most violent, with bulldozers pulling down homes while families were still inside and setting homes on fire. Some children have been declared missing in the chaos created by utter impunity.”

Expressing concern, the group decried the aftermath of the repeated, violent and forced evictions, which have continued to render hundreds of families homeless and livelihoods destroyed, in disregard for international law bearing on human dignity.

“Lagos must be an inclusive city. A mega Lagos must not come at the expense of the lives and livelihood of communities living in poverty that are being punished for the decades of government’s urban planning failures,” Amnesty International said.

Spelling its primary demand, the rights group called on the Lagos state government to temporarily suspend the mass evictions of residents in Oworonshoki.

It also urged Governor Babajide Sanwoolu’s administration to investigate the continued use of violence during evictions, as well as provide effective compensation to all affected residents and property owners, whose human rights have been violated.