Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has urged the Lagos State Government to immediately halt the demolition of waterfront properties, describing the actions as illegal and unconstitutional in view of existing court judgments.
In a statement titled “Lagos State Government Must Halt Illegal Demolition of Waterfront Properties,” Falana recalled a judgment delivered on June 22, 2017, by the Lagos High Court, which declared unlawful a series of government-ordered evictions that left over 30,000 residents homeless.
Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo, who delivered the judgment, held that the evictions violated the fundamental rights of the affected residents and awarded ₦3.5 million in damages in their favour. The court also ordered an end to further evictions and directed the Lagos State Government to engage affected communities on resettlement plans in line with its urban renewal policy.
Falana said the ruling was capable of preventing an estimated 270,000 residents from losing their waterfront homes to urban development.
He also referenced a judgment delivered on August 25, 2025, by Justice F.N. Ogazi of the Federal High Court in Lagos, which restrained the Lagos State Government, its agencies, and the Nigeria Police Force from carrying out further demolitions or evictions in the Makoko, Oko-Agbon, Sogunro, and Iwaya waterfront communities.
According to Falana, the order was granted to protect residents from what the court described as a continuous threat of imminent demolition, following years of disputes over alleged forceful land acquisition without compensation or resettlement.
Despite these court orders, Falana accused the state government of continuing demolitions, including the destruction of schools and medical centres. He alleged that the actions had resulted in loss of lives and the displacement of thousands of residents.
The senior lawyer further argued that the demolitions were in contempt of a Supreme Court judgment delivered on January 7, 2024, in a dispute between the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) and the Lagos State Government.
He said the apex court affirmed that existing laws confer exclusive control of inland waterways on the Federal Government through NIWA, citing Sections 8 and 9 of the NIWA Act.
Falana maintained that since inland waterways fall under federal control, demolitions carried out by the Lagos State Government in waterfront communities are illegal, unconstitutional, and contemptuous of court orders.
He urged Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to comply with the judgments, recalling the Supreme Court’s decision in Military Governor of Lagos State v. Chief Emeka Ojukwu, where a military government obeyed a court order by restoring possession of disputed property. Falana stressed that lawful governance requires respect for subsisting court orders and the protection of citizens’ rights.
