Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has urged the Lagos State Authorities to right away cease what he described as unlawful and unconstitutional demolitions of waterfront properties throughout the state, citing a number of courtroom rulings restraining such actions.
In an announcement titled “Lagos State Authorities Should Halt Unlawful Demolition of Waterfront Properties,” Falana recalled that on June 22, 2017, the Lagos Excessive Court docket declared illegal a collection of government-ordered evictions that left greater than 30,000 residents homeless.
Delivering the judgment, Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo (now retired) dominated that the evictions violated the elemental rights of the affected residents and awarded them ₦3.5 million in damages.
The courtroom additionally ordered an finish to future evictions, a call that would have protected an estimated 270,000 residents from dropping their waterfront houses to city improvement.
The choose additional directed the Lagos State Authorities to have interaction affected communities on resettlement plans in accordance with its city renewal coverage.
Falana additionally referenced a newer ruling delivered on August 25, 2025, by Justice F.N. Ogazi of the Federal Excessive Court docket in Lagos, which barred the Lagos State Authorities, its businesses, and the Nigeria Police Drive from finishing up additional demolitions or evictions in Makoko, Oko-Agbon, Sogunro, and Iwaya waterfront communities.
The order aimed to guard residents from what the courtroom described as a “steady threat and concern of imminent demolition,” following years of rigidity over alleged forceful land acquisition with out compensation or resettlement.
Regardless of these courtroom orders, Falana accused the Lagos State Authorities of constant demolitions, describing it as “a brazen show of government impunity.” He said:
“The Lagos State Authorities has continued to demolish waterfront properties, together with colleges and medical centres. Within the course of of those reckless demolitions and evictions, some residents have misplaced their lives whereas 1000’s of others have been displaced.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the Supreme Court docket clarified that the Nationwide Inland Waterways Authority is the one rightful and authorized authorities company with the powers to solely handle, direct, and management all actions on navigable waters and their rights of approach all through the nation for inland navigation,” Falana stated, citing Sections 8 and 9 of the NIWA Act.
He maintained that, since management of inland waterways rests solely with the Federal Authorities, the Lagos State Authorities’s demolitions in waterfront communities are “unlawful, unconstitutional, and contemptuous,” describing them as “a evident sabotage of the judicial arm of presidency.”
In urging compliance with the courtroom rulings, Falana reminded Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of the Supreme Court docket’s determination in Navy Governor of Lagos State v. Chief Emeka Ojukwu, by which even a navy authorities obeyed a courtroom order by restoring possession of disputed property.
“We’re compelled to remind Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of this precedent,” Falana stated, stressing that lawful governance requires respect for legitimate and subsisting courtroom orders and the safety of the rights of affected residents.