As it celebrates the 50th year of its creation, the Lagos State government has been asked to stop forced evictions and ensure compliance with international best practice by providing respite for victims of such actions.
Amnesty International Nigeria made the call on Wednesday in a statement by its Media Manager, Isa Sanusi.
The human rights group said while there are a lot of reasons for Lagos to celebrate, repeated forced evictions since 2013 have rendered at least 50,000 residents of informal settlements homeless.
These evictions, it said, were ironic, especially as the Lagos@50 celebrations, present Lagos as ‘the city where dreams come true without discrimination’.
“It is staggering to think that a megacity like Lagos still does not have a law prohibiting forced evictions and guaranteeing people’s right to housing,” Amnesty International Nigeria’s Researcher, Morayo Adebayo, was quoted as saying.
“The Government of Lagos state has consistently ignored calls to follow due process, including ensuring meaningful consultation, and providing compensation and adequate, alternative housing where necessary.”
According to the human rights group, the rapid urbanisation in Lagos is escalating the already staggering housing crisis in the state.
It explained that this is because “people who have been forcibly evicted remain homeless, and at risk of other human rights violations”.
It, therefore, urged the state government to put policies in place to protect residents against such evictions.
Specifically, Amnesty International asked the state government to “establish a moratorium on all evictions until there are regulations in place to ensure that evictions comply with international standards; provide and guarantee adequate alternative housing, without discrimination, to all people being evicted who are unable to provide for themselves; and ensure that all persons forcibly evicted have access to effective remedies and the right to reparation”.
Adebayo, who said state agents use excessive force and deliberately destroy properties of residents during forced evictions, stressed that development must have a human face.
She said, “Development must have human rights and justice at its core. As Lagos state looks forward to its next 50 years and plans towards being a “smart city”, it must find ways of righting the wrongs of its past by putting in place policies and laws to protect all residents against forced evictions.”
Amnesty’s call comes on the heels of the statement by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode that the state is a melting pot of all cultures.
Mr Ambode had during a lecture as part of the state’s 50th anniversary attributed the greatness of the state to the contribution of leaders and residents of the state who have distinguished themselves in making others feel at home away from home.
“Our greatness is in our ability to be the melting pot of all cultures and as at today, there is no tribe in Nigeria that is not represented in Lagos. From the Hausa/Fulani to the Igbo to the Kanuri to the Ibibio, the Nupe, the Berom, the Igala and so on and so forth all have spaces to live and live well in our dear State,” the governor said.
