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Lagos demolition – ‘They were shooting at us like animals’
7:59 CAT | 11 Apr 2017
Thousands of people were forced from their homes in the fishing community of Otodo Gbame in Lagos over the weekend, human rights groups say.
Eyewitnesses say at least one man was shot dead and another seriously injured when the police opened fire.
In a statement to the BBC, the Lagos state government vigorously contested that version of events.
It denied that the police had opened fire or killed anyone.
Hundreds of homes were burnt to the ground, forcing the community to flee in their fishing boats.
Just a handful of the homes built on stilts are still standing.
We wanted to visit the site but thugs armed with machetes are now patrolling it.
The Lagos state government described the community as an “illegal shanty” saying it was a “den for armed robbers, kidnappers and militants.”
Locals deny this, saying the government was using this as a pretext to evict them from prime real estate.
One of those who fled was 18-year-old Nathaniel Loko, a high-school student.
He told me:
“I was born here… I was so scared about the guns. They were shooting at us like animals.
“I lost all my school belongings – testimonials, certificates, and my uniforms… We have nowhere to go so we will stay around here.
“The government should help to rebuild our houses.”
Elizabeth Asogba lived in the community for more than a decade. She worked as a trader, selling soft drinks.
This morning she went back to the community to salvage what she could from her home.
She was chased by thugs and was forced to jump into the water to escape.
For Elizabeth and many others in the community the destruction of their community is an example of how the authorities only work for the rich and not the poor.
She did, however, manage to collect a few of her belongings – a torch, a bottle of water, a few tops, a phone charger and a comb.
The Lagos state government denied that there was a court order blocking demolition of the settlement, as locals and some civil society groups have said.
It said a fire in November, which it blamed on ethnic clashes, had already completely destroyed the settlement, and meant that people should not have returned to the area to live.
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