The Nation Newspaper

Tag: demolition

  • Ekeh donates N50m to Owerri market demolition victims

    Chairman of Zinox Group, Chief Leo Stan Ekeh, has urged citizens of Imo State to allow peace to reign in the aftermath of the crisis and reported loss of lives which trailed the demolition of the Eke Ukwu market, unarguably the biggest market in the state.

    Ekeh, a native of Owerri, has announced a donation of N50 million to be disbursed to those directly affected in the market and families of the victims who unfortunately lost their lives. This, he hopes, will help cushion the effects of the demolition on their livelihood and calm the tense situation in Owerri, while also pleading with those affected not to allow themselves to be used to cause trouble in the state.

    According to the Head of Leo Stan Ekeh (LSE) Foundation – Mr. Niyi Onabanjo, Ekeh made it clear to the smart implementation committee already set up and headed by a man of integrity, Chief Ambrose Ejiogu, that all those directly affected, by definition, means those trading in the market, whether indigenes of Owerri, Orlu, Okigwe or from neighboring states.

    In addition to Chief Ejiogu (Chairman) and Dr. Vin Udokwu (Secretary), other members of the committee are Chief C.Y Amako, Prof. Obioma Iheduru, Chief Emeka Ekwebelem, Mrs. Chuks Ekemaru, Dr. Canice Nwosu, Sam Nwoke and Chief Analyn Nwaneri, among others.

    The committee’s mandate is to work with the leadership of the market association in identifying those affected for disbursement of the funds to them. This, he hopes, will be sorted out within two weeks and funds disbursed 21 days from today.

    Onabanjo hinted that Ekeh had two months ago awarded a multi-million Naira contract for a comprehensive refurbishment of a Practical Entrepreneurship Centre sited inside a market in Owerri which is slated for commissioning first week of November as a model.

    He believes if the model works, the Imo state government may replicate same in other regions for the benefit of her citizens.

    “Though a private initiative, I am sure he would have mentioned it to the State Governor. He intends to invite quality multinationals like Microsoft, Google, HP, IBM, Cisco, Facebook etc. to come and inspire Imo State youths so that they can see the bigger picture of the global wealth roadmap. As a promoter of knowledge democracy, he has been quietly assisting his state in the little ways he can,” he said.

  • Mixed reaction trails Lagos demolition

    Mixed reaction trails Lagos demolition

    •Agency identifies 114 buildings to be pulled down

    Mixed reaction has continued to trail the demolition embarked on by the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA). The agency, on Monday, began the demolition of buildings it alleged were prone to collapse within the state. So far, the agency has identified 114 buildings to be demolished. Approval for demolition of 57 of the buildings in the first phase of the exercise has been given by governor Akinwunmi Ambode.

    For Mrs. Adijat Adekunle, a 72-year-old fish seller on the Island, the demolition of a three-storey building at 152, Adeniji Adele Street, Lagos Island, belonging to the Aroba family is a welcome development, given the danger it posed to people in the area. She said the tenants have vacated the building a long time.

    Also, a student at kwara state polytechnic, Mr. Babatunde Afolabi, of 3, Ajanaku street, Lagos Island,   commended the state government’s effort on the demolition. He told The Nation that the demolished building was “too weak and could pose a danger to the lives of the people on the street.”

    A retiree, who pleaded for anonymity because he resides on the same street housing the demolished building, said the structure, built in the 1990s, belonged to the Adeseye family. According to him, it was clear from the time of construction that the building had structural integrity issues. Hence, according to him, it was a welcome development that the building was pulled down by government.

    At 54 Aroloya street, Lagos island, a 40-year-old barber and father of one, Mr. Bolaji Abdulahi, who has lived in the area for 15 years, explained that the house, belonging to the Olokodana family, had long been vacated by the tenants because of the state it was in. He revealed that entreaties by the community to the children of the owner to either renovate the house or pull it down fell on deaf ears. So, the LASBCA initiative of pulling down the house was a welcome development for him.

    But it was not all praises for the agency. Some residents and perceived owners were bitter with LASBCA, asking them to pay for the demolition of their properties. Although they refused to be identified with their buildings for what they termed “security reason”, but they said the cost charged for the demolition was on the high side.

    A man in his late 50s,  who identified himself as ‘Sesan’, however  described it as ridiculous when government expected him to pay to reclaim his family land after losing a property. To him, it amounted to double losses “How can they expect us to come and pay N250,000 to get the land back?” he asked rhetorically. Findings by The Nation revealed that the payment for the demolition starts from N100, 000, depending on the type of building.

    According to Sesan, such money was ridiculous and unkind, given that all LASBCA did was to use hammer to break the buildings in bits and pieces and not pulling them down completely. “As you can see, the buildings they claim to have demolished are still standing; they only used hammer to break them in bits. So, is this what they expect us to pay such amount for as demolition? They are simply after generating revenue. If they had brought tractors to level the buildings and asked us to pay such amount then it would have been a different ball game,” he said amidst bitterness.

    The demolition exercise, which began last Monday, according to LASBCA General Manager, Lekan Shodeinde, will be done in phases as soon as funding is available to the agency. “We have approval to pull down 57 houses, but we are starting today with 13 out of the 34 buildings we have identified on the Lagos Island and which we have fund for. So, as we get more fund we will continue with the exercise,” he said.

    Explaining the process leading to demolition, he said before demolishing any building the agency will require the owner to conduct a “Non Defective Test”, which will be done within three weeks with the result sent to the agency. Non compliance with this will be deemed to mean that the building is distressed. “And we as an agency seeks approval to come and remove it,”he said.

    The LASBCA boss explained that the choice of starting the demolition on the Lagos Island was premised on the preponderance of more distressed structuresalready identified in the area. He regretted that owners of such buildings have ignored advice by the government to remove the structures themselves, necessitating the agency’s proactive steps to avoid a disaster, which may result if the buildings fall off by themselves.

    Commenting on the cost implication of the demolition and the ownership of the land occupied by a demolished building after such exercise, Shodeinde explained that the land still remains the property of the owner. The property owner, he said, is however required to pay the state government for the cost of demolition, which will be communicated to the property owner in writing.

    “We are rendering a service to the property owner and not to confiscate the land because the building has not collapsed. We just remove the structure and communicate the cost to you, if you refund the cost to the government within 90 days the land is still yours; but if after 90 days of demanding for the refund of money and there is none, or we do not get a correspondence from the land owner, the land then stands forfeited to the  government,” Shodeinde explained.

    Findings by The Nation revealed that the agency opted for the breakage of the buildings instead of outright demolition using bulldozers because of the location of most of the structures. According to sources close to the agency, using heavy duty machines to demolish the buildings may affect houses beside the ones demolished.

  • Lagos begins demolition of 57 distressed buildings

    Lagos begins demolition of 57 distressed buildings

    The Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) yesterday began the demolition of 57 distressed buildings across the city.

    The Nation learnt that 114 distressed buildings were identified, 34 on Lagos Island.

    LASBCA officials, escorted by armed policemen, stormed the Island yesterday for the exercise.

    Its General Manager, Lekan Shodeinde, said it was the first phase of the exercise approved by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode.

    Shodeinde, an engineer, said owners were served notices prior to the exercise.

    He said the exercise was to stem the tide of collapsed buildings.

    Thirteen buildings were expected to be demolished yesterday; others would go during the second phase of the exercise.

    Shodeinde said owners would be given 90 days to pay for the demolished buildings, failing which government would seize the land.

    He said before the demolition, owners would be given time to remedy the situation, including subjecting the property to integrity test.

    According to him, the property will be demolished if found to be unsafe after the test.

  • Market demolition: Association clears Ambode

    Contrary to insinuations that Lagos State governor, Akinwunmi Ambode ordered the demolition of second wing of Alade Market, Ikeja, Lagos, the Association of Nigerian Market Women and Men in the market, have cleared the air on the incident last weekend.

    The Association, which spoke through its Iyaloja-General, Mrs. Adia Apena in a statement, explained that all marketers in the second wing agreed to a plan to demolish the market.

    Faulting reports making the rounds, the Iyaloja-General said the demolition of the second wing of the market, which started last Sunday, was in line with the resolution agreed to by all the traders on the final relocation of the marketers.

    She said the traders had requested the Ikeja Local Government and the concessionaire, Master Reality International Concepts Limited to provide them with an alternative space to continue trading before the demolition of the second wing of Alade Market. Consequently, she explained, the local government directed the concessionaire to cater for those whose interests might not have been accommodated in the New Alade Market. The concessionaire was then said to have constructed blocks of shops for the affected people.

    “After the concessioner completed the new blocks of shops, the Sole Administrator of Ikeja Local Government, Mr. Abiodun Taiwo, convened a stakeholders’ meeting on the relocation plan for the marketers that were yet to be provided with alternative shops. At the meetings, letters of allocation of shops were issued. And all marketers at the meeting received their letters of allocations. We made resolution that demolition would commence precisely on April 30. By April 28, traders began to move their goods from the market,” Apena said.

    On Sunday, Apena said some traders were still moving their stuff from the market, noting that she was present at the market “to witness their relocation.” This, she said, can be proved based on the ledger that all shop owners signed before they could move from their shops.

    She reiterated that the Alade market “is the first and only market that has been demolished in Lagos, if not in Nigeria, with an alternative for relocation. This arrangement has saved us from disruption of commercial activities.”

    In 2016, the traders at the main wing of Alade Market were relocated to the New Alade Market, which was developed by the Ikeja Local Government in partnership with the concessionaire of Alade Shopping Mall, Master Reality International Concepts Limited. The second wing, which specifically housed the operators of Bureau de Change among others, was not demolished to enable the local government construct an alternative market in order to avoid disrupting their commercial activities.

  • Ojodu traders appeal to Ambode over ‘demolition’

    Ojodu traders appeal to Ambode over ‘demolition’

    The leadership of Ojodu Retail Market, Ojodu-Berger in Ojodu Local Council Development Area (LCDA) of Lagos State has appealed to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to assist traders, whose shops and stalls were allegedly demolished last month.
    They said the assistance would alleviate their sufferings.
    The Iyaloja General of the LCDA, Mrs. Folasade Salako, who addressed reporters in Lagos after the alleged demolition, said two of the traders died following the shock they experienced.
    She implored the government to compensate and relocate them.
    “Since the demolition of the market about three weeks ago, we have lost two of our colleagues. You may investigate this. The traders died because of shock. As I speak to you, many traders have been hospitalised. I’m also under medical supervision as a result of high blood pressure. We cannot continue like this if we do not want to record more casualties. This is certainly not a good thing.” Salako said.
    She said the first Executive Governor of Lagos State, Alhaji Lateef Jakande, established the market 33 years ago, adding that demolishing it was not the best way to celebrate the legacies of the state’s founding fathers, “especially as Lagos is celebrating 50.”
    Her words: “There is need not only to compensate the traders, but also to give them another means of livelihood. We should not throw these people out of job. Most of the traders are the bread winners of their families. Some of them are repaying loans. Where will they get money to repay the loans now that the market has been demolished? This is why there is high rate of depression in the society. People are committing suicide on a daily basis because of frustration.”
    The Nation learnt the demolition occurred three weeks ago in the presence of armed policemen, “to prevent a breakdown of law and order.”
    It was gathered the traders tried to salvage goods, to no avail.
    One of them, who preferred anonymity, alleged: “We were caught unawares. The government did not notify us before the exercise.”
    The Iyaloja of Ojodu-Berger, Mrs. Abibat Adelayo Adegbola, condemned the demolition. She said she did not have inkling the government would demolish the market.
    But the government denied the allegation that it was responsible for the demolition.
    Physical Planning and Urban Development Commissioner Wasiu Anifowoshe said it was not in the character of the Ambode administration to demolish markets.

  • Demolition victims protest in Rivers

    Demolition victims protest in Rivers

    Demolition victims in Rivers State have protested what they described as “continued delay by the government to address our plight after demolishing our shanties 10 months ago.”

    The demonstration took place at Uruala Street, near Uruala Waterfront, Mile 1, Diobu, in Port Harcourt City Local Government.

    The protesters were led by members of non-government organisations, such as the Centre on Housing Right and Eviction (COHRE), Centre for Environment Human Right and Development (CEHRD) and Social Development Integrated Centre.

    Landlords at Eagle Island waterfront, Andoni village waterfront, Calvary Temple waterfront, Redeemed Village waterfront and others joined the action.

    The demonstrators said they had been rendered homeless.

    They said the government should compensate them.

    Mr. Michael Ogotogute, the leader of Eagle Island victims, said the government destroyed their houses and belongings, adding that many of them were ejected with only the clothes they wore.

    He said: “We are suffering. The government has refused to listen to our cries. We should be compensated.

    “We urge the government to rebuild our communities and assist us to go back there or relocate us to places that will be acceptable to us. We cannot continue to sleep outside, we are tired.”

    A 16-year-old victim, Grace Mercy West, told The Nation she was almost defiled when the government demolished their house because she slept outside.

    She said her father and expectant sister died a few days after the demolition, adding that her family had not recovered from the incident.

    Grace implored the government to consider the plight of affected children and women.

    The Community Officer, Social Development Integrated Centre (Social Action), Mr.

    Jim Tom-George, said the government should realise eviction was not only illegal, but also unjust and counterproductive.

    He said those who advised the government to evict the residents were enemies of the masses, adding that waterfront communities did not need demolition but justice, development and better lives.

    Tom-George said: “It is our task to keep reminding the government to consult affected house owners and tenants. Those ejected should be given alternative accommodation.

    “The eviction of waterfront settlers was a wrong approach to tackle insecurity. The victims are homeless and left to fend for themselves despite the recession.”

  • Group faults Otodo Gbame’s demolition

    A group, the United Action for Democracy (UAD), has chided the Lagos State government for acquiring Otodo Gbame community, claiming that the action was influenced by the affluent.

    It accused the state of adopting insincere and oppressive means to strip the poor of their land.

    Its General Secretary, Kunle Ajayi, at a meeting with community elders, said their eviction violated the Land Use Act.

    He said: “It is public knowledge that the Otodo Gbame people have secured judicial pronouncements against the illegal demolitions but the government keeps trampling on the law to insult our collective humanity. This is state robbery of Maroko and Makoko where land that belong to the poor has been taken, rebuilt and handed to the rich. The way the land of the poor is being taken coupled with the general socio-economic attacks through inhuman policies like deregulation and privatisation, the rich is so obsessed with deepening the class war. If we allow Otodo Gbame to be taken just like the case of Atiporeme in Badagry, we are giving the oppressors more audacity to march on our innocent heads and insult us.”

    The group, he said, would defend the community, urging the government to stop hounding the power in the bid to evolve a ‘mega city’ structure.

    He advised the state to focus on a radical housing scheme that is conducive and open to all classes of people, rather than exclusively for the rich.

    Ajayi sought the intervention of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) in the matter to ensure justice is done.

    “Evidence has shown that it is the policemen that serve as bodyguards to the land grabbers who help in burning houses during illegal and inhuman actions. We call on all the working people of Lagos to come together in solidarity with Otodo Ggbame.”

    A community elder, Mr. Torsihun Pascal, pleaded that the demolition be stopped, adding that plans were on motion to redevelop the community on their own.

    “What is happening in Otodo Gbame is unfortunate under the Lagos State government. I was born here and I am 53 years of age. How do you just wake up one day and ask me to leave. Even if they want to destroy shanties, it shouldn’t be a big community like this where people have domiciled for long. We want the government to know we have our own plan to develop here ourselves. We have nowhere else to go,” Pascal said.

     

  • Illegality of houses demolition in Lagos

    Illegality of houses demolition in Lagos

    In this article, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, lists the processes that must be followed by the government before embarking on demolition of houses.  

    Sometime in 1989, about 300,000 people were rendered homeless in Maroko, a shanty town on Victoria Island in Lagos State when their houses were demolished by the defunct military junta.  All efforts by the displaced people of Maroko to halt the demolition failed on the ground that a breach of the fundamental right to property could not be enforced under the Fundamental Rights Enforcement Procedure Rules, 1979.  Upon the appropriation of Maroko, it was sand-filled with public funds and distributed by the government to some top civil servants, military officers and business elite. Even though the Court of Appeal later held that the refusal of the High Court to grant the relief sought by the displaced community was wrong, the ruling military junta arrogantly named one of the streets after the judge who refused the injunction!

    However, following the destruction of their homes by the Lagos State government, the Maroko people took over the uncompleted Abesan Estate. To prevent the government from ejecting them forcefully from the estate, we approached the Lagos High Court for legal protection. In stiff opposition to the suit the government contended that since the occupants of the estate were squatters, they could be ejected forcefully. In rejecting the spurious contention, the presiding judge, Alabi J. (as he then was) ruled that the occupiers of the estate were entitled to be served a seven-day quit notice and be sued if they refused to quit the premises.

    Notwithstanding the clear provisions of the law enunciated by the Lagos High Court in Samuel Ayeyemi’s case, the Lagos State government has continued to embark on mass demolition of houses occupied by the poor in the state. It is our submission that all the demolition exercises carried out so far are illegal as they violate Section 36(4) of the Constitution which stipulates that in the determination of their rights and obligations, every citizen shall be entitled to make a representation to the authority. It is pertinent to note that the right of owners or occupiers of houses to make representation to the government before any demolition exercise is carried out is enshrined in the Lagos State Urban and Regional Planning and Development Law Cap U2 Laws of Lagos state 2015 (herein referred to as the URPD Law).

    Thus, by virtue of Section 49 of the URPD Law, there shall be a renewal agency which shall be saddled with the responsibility to issue enforcement notices, including the following: Contravention Notice; Stop Work Order; Quit Notice; Seal-up Notice;  Regularisation Notice; and Demolition Notice.

    Before enforcing the order contained in any of the aforesaid notices,  a committee of members of the renewal agency shall be set up to hear, consider and report on any representation or objection which may be made orally or in writing by the owner or occupier of any building on which a notice has been pasted. It is further provided that before a demolition order is made in respect of any building or a part of it, estimates of the compensation payable to the owner or occupier shall be determined and made available.

    If the agency dismisses the objection and confirms the demolition order, the aggrieved owner or occupier has the right to appeal against the decision to the Physical Planning and Building Control Agency Appeals Committee. Furthermore, an aggrieved person or any interested party may appeal against the decision of the Appeals Committee and such appeal shall lie as of right to the High Court of the State. The appeal to the high court must be made within twenty-eight (28) days after written notification of the final decision of the Appeals Committee.

    It is clear from the foregoing that it is after the complaint of the aggrieved person has been dismissed by the High Court that any demolition can be carried out in Lagos State. However, a building cannot be demolished in any part of the state without a valid court order, unless it has been established that it is structurally defective or found to constitute environmental hazard.  Therefore, the practice of demolishing houses after the expiration of a 48-hour notice is illegal in every material particular.  In a judgment delivered by the Federal Capital Territory High court on February 2, 2017, in Chief Jacob Obor & Ors v Federal Capital Territory & Ors (unreported suit no  CV/3998/12) Kutigi J. declared the planned demolition of all the houses in Mpape illegal on the ground that the notices purportedly served on the plaintiffs did not meet  statutory requirement.

    Indeed, the illegality of the demolition of houses in Lagos State is compounded by the refusal of the Ministry of Physical Planning to hear and determine the objections and complaints of owners of buildings which are marked for demolition. In other words, the action of the government constitutes a reckless violation of the provisions of sections 57-89 of the Law. It is also a breach of section of 36 (4) of the Constitution which guarantees the fundamental right of every citizen to make a representation before any matter affecting their civil rights and obligations is determined.

    In SERAP v. Federal Republic of Nigeria (2002) 2 CHR 537 at 562 the African Commission on Human and People’ Rights condemned the demolition of a number of houses in Ogoniland. While upholding the human right of the owners of the demolished houses to shelter the Commission said:

    “At a very minimum, the right to shelter obliges the Nigerian government not to destroy the housing of its citizens and not to obstruct efforts by individuals or communities to rebuild lost homes. The state’s obligation to respect housing rights requires it, and thereby all of its organs and agents, to abstain from carrying out, sponsoring or tolerating any practice, policy or legal measure violating the integrity of the individual or infringing upon his or her freedom to use those material or other resources available to them in a way they find most appropriate to satisfy individual, family, household or community housing needs.”

    To check the menace of land grabbers and prevent a breakdown of law and order, the Lagos state government has enacted the …….Law, 2016, which has criminalised the seizure of land and houses without a valid court order. Thus, by forcefully taking over houses before demolishing them, the Lagos state government has violated its own law. The duty of the government to prevent the use of force was emphasised in the case of Attorney-General of Lagos v. Attorney-General of the Federation (2004) 18 NWLR (PT 904) 1 at 53 by the late Justice Niki Tobi when he said:

    “The courts are available to accommodate all sorts of grievances that are justiciable in law and section 6 of the Constitution gives the courts power to adjudicate on masters between two or more competing parties. In our democracy all the governments of this country as well as organizations and individuals must kowtow to the due process of the law and this they can vindicate by resorting to the courts for redress in the event of any grievance.”

    It has been confirmed that some of the demolitions were carried out while cases challenging the validity of demolition notices were being challenged in the Lagos High Court. Even under a military dictatorship the government  was called to order in the case of The military governor of Lagos State v Chief Emeka Ojukwu (1986) 4 NWLR (PT 18) 621 when the Supreme Court said:

    “In the area where the rule of law operates, the rule of self-help by force is abandoned. Nigeria being one of the countries in the world, even in the third world which proclaims to operate under the rule of law, there is no room for rule of self-help by force to operate… the rule of law means that disputes as to the legality of acts of government are to be decided by judges who are wholly independent of the executive.”

    In the light of the foregoing, it is submitted that the demolition of houses carried out by the Lagos State Government without a court order is illegal and unconstitutional. If the victims seek legal redress, the government is liable to pay special, general and aggravated damages. Perhaps the attention of the government ought to be drawn to the damages of N166 billion awarded by the Federal High Court against the Federal Government in three separate judgments over the wilful destruction and demolition of houses during the military invasions of Odi, Zaki Biam and Gbaramatu.

  • Demolition: Residents take case to Tinubu

    Demolition: Residents take case to Tinubu

    Residents of the Olokonla community in the Eti-Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State have appealed to the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to intervene in the demolition of their houses.

    The people, who protested in front of Tinubu’s residence in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Thursday, alleged that some men who claimed to be the officials of the Lagos State government allegedly demolished their buildings worth over N15billion.

    The protesters, led by Mr. Dotun Hassan, a lawyer-cum-human rights activist, said their houses were demolished without a court order.

    “We appeal to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a kind politician, to intervene and stop this demolition. We are not illegal occupiers. We have our genuine land documents,” the demonstrators said.

    Mr. Tunde Rahman, the Media Assistant to Asiwaju Tinubu, urged the protesters to maintain the peace.

    He promised to convey their petition to Asiwaju Tinubu and advised their leader to come to the Freedom House next Tuesday.

  • Traders decry Olorunsogo market demolition

    Traders decry Olorunsogo market demolition

    Traders of the Olorunsogo Ultra modern market which was destroyed over the weekend have decried the action of the Lagos State government. They said despite several petitions and pleas to the state, their efforts were discarded without due notice of eviction.

    According to them, the issue was already in court and had undergone two sittings before the demolition. Many of the shops owners were said to have bought at high rates from the developer contracted by the government. They agitated for due compensation especially for shop owners, insisting that government must make provision for an alternative site.

    A trader who simply gave his name as Augustin said: “The matter is already in court and the last adjournment date now is February 9. The case we are making with the State and the Onigbongbo Local Council Development Area, is that they should relocate us and compensate the shop owners, not traders. Anybody can be a trader but the legitimate owners that bought the shop from the government must be compensated. That is what is obtainable in any civil society anywhere.”

    Describing the incidence as a negative hit on his business, Augustin said: “by the gravity of what has happened to me, I am losing N10million worth of goods because I lost all. I bought my shops for N2.5million and I have two stores; an open block and another lock up shop. There is no formal eviction notice given to the market. It is only based on mere here say through our people. Government officials through their agencies cannot come to claim that they came here for once, summoned the marketers, or shop owners to leave for demolition. Even from the here say, they told them that they are going to relocate the traders somewhere at Tipper Garage Ojota, and still pay us compensation because that was the agreement between them and the developer. So we are all surprised that at about 12am, when people were sleeping, they called that the bulldozer was here, take your things, else we will bulldoze them. How can it be possible for someone to evacuate his wares under two minutes? It is uncalled for, disheartening and inhumane. My source of livelihood as I speak with you has been destroyed. In less than six days, my children will resume school, where will I get their school fees.There are no jobs and the place we are using to manage ourselves is still destroyed.”

    Corroborating him, Ekene, a curtain seller and sewer who lost his goods said: “I was at home around 12pm when they called me but I couldn’t come until 4am this morning. I was not able to rescue anything. I sell and sow curtains. We were informed that they were going to break this place but we didn’t really understand it then. There are two parties in the market. A group were saying that it would happen, others said nothing would happen. My take is that if our government is good, when they arrived here with armoured vehicles, they should have waited and by this morning, people will come and get their goods before they start demolishing. It was the same thing that happened to the other side, so it’s not new. I feel so bad to begin the year this way but it won’t kill myself of steal.”

    A live chicken seller, Olayinka Adebimpe said: “They told us since last year and we begged them to wait till January. So we expected them to notify us of the date they are coming but we didn’t know. They ought to tell us. The reason why we waited was because we were expecting the payment promised us because we bought the shops with full allocation. I bought mine for N450,000 from the contractors and I was given allocation directly from government. That was our expectation. We know we can’t fight the government. All my chickens are dead. We were pursued with tear gas.”

    A sewer, Chienwa who fainted on the news of demolition said: “I can’t understand. When they asked us to park, I thought they were joking. The next thing was that someone called me that there was demolition ongoing. The only thing I saved from my shop is my machine. Up till now, I don’t get myself. We don’t know the reason why they demolished.”

    She pleaded with government to always give room for people to pack their belongings before destroying.

    The Babaloja, Lukman Adeyemo however debunked the claim that the traders were not informed, saying: “It is not true that we didn’t tell them. It was government itself that built the market and sold to us. We regularly pay levies to the local government here. What the government told us was that a bigger shopping mall will replaced this. So rather than having for instance, 200 people patronise here, about 10,000 would. They promised to return and even compensate everyone.”