Amnesty accuses Lagos of displacing 50,000 residents
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Punch
Forced demolitions carried out in Makoko between December 2025 and January 2026 allegedly displaced around 50,000 residents and destroyed 5,000 homes, according to Amnesty International. The organisation says other operations in Lagos also affected schools, health centres and livelihoods, without adequate resettlement.
Amnesty International has accused the Lagos State Government of displacing around 50,000 residents and destroying 5,000 homes in Makoko during demolition operations carried out between December 2025 and January 2026. The human rights organisation presented the figures on Wednesday 4 November, based on an investigation conducted from 12 to 16 October 2026, Punch reports.
Amnesty says the demolitions in Makoko, Oworonshoki and Mile 12 also destroyed 42 schools, 20 dispensaries and several places of worship. Residents reported at least 12 deaths linked to the operations, including following exposure to tear gas and collapses, while the organisation refers to more than 30 deaths reported in the communities of Mosafejo and Idiaraba in Oworonshoki.
The director of Amnesty International Nigeria, Isa Sanusi, accused the authorities of carrying out evictions since March 2016 without consultation, sufficient notice or resettlement. The organisation says police officers sometimes acted with armed men or thugs and that, in some cases, families saw their homes demolished while they slept, according to Punch.
