The Lagos state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Ade Ipaye has said that the state government does not have the means to relocate persons who were evicted from Badia East local government area, adding that, they were illegal residents of the swamp turned slum.
He said this on Sunrise while discussing about the alleged 9000 people who lost their homes as a result of forceful eviction and demolition by the Fashola led administration, in February.
A report by Amnesty International and the Socio Economic Right Action Centre stated that satellite pictures revealed a densely populated area containing concrete house and other structures razed to the ground but the Lagos State government denied this claim and said that the area was a rubbish dump.
A Nigerian representative of the Amnesty International, Oluwatosin Popoola confirmed that “approximately 36,000 square meters of high density structures were razed to the ground on the 23rd of February 2013”.
He further stated that the Lagos state government sent in bull dozers with the support of heavily armed police officers. Their research in May interviewed over 40 affected persons who testified to this.
“Several structures were demolished by officials of the Lagos state task force,” and “we were told the government didn’t come to mark any of their properties,” he added.
Their report also revealed that the residents were not informed beforehand and so were caught unawares by the eviction.
However, the Lagos state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Ade Ipaye insisted that the 10 hectare area was an uninhabited swamp which ‘grew into a refuse dump’.
He said the government had projects it wanted to carry out on the land but before this could happen, scavengers came in and built wooden structures.
“The state governor had been there at least twice 2008 and in October, 2012, where “we made it clear that it was not permissible for people to build so called homes on refuse.”
He added that the area had harboured criminals who would carry out criminal activities in neighbouring communities.
A former resident of Badia who was born and bred in the area, Friday Ogunyemi, refuted the claims of the Commissioner, adding that the site was not a refuse dump.
He disclosed that the former state governor, Bola Tinubu had led a team of bull dozers in 2003.
He said their forefathers had been relocated from Oluwole Village (which was later called National Art Theatre) to the ‘back of Marble industry’ (now Badia east) which was owned by the Federal Government and not the Lagos state government.
Mr Ogunyemi also disclosed that the Federal Government in 2005 proposed a ‘slum upgrading’ project for the benefit of the residents. Lagos state was part of the technical committee.
