The Human Cost of Lagos Demolitions

When the government demolishes the building you live in, your property is not the only thing you lose. You also lose your self.

On what was supposed to be a normal workday in March 2024 for Martina as a schoolteacher at Lekki, everything changed very quickly after her neighbour called at 12:30 pm to inform her of the bulldozer that was getting closer to their houses. She was very confused, given that there was no announcement of a demolition earlier. She explained the situation to her boss and hurriedly took a bus home. When she got there, Martina didn’t even know where her house was, as it had already been brought down to rubble, but she recognized the broken image of the Holy Family, which she used to locate the original space. That is how she was rendered homeless.

Martina’s narration and the images she shared enabled me to clearly visualize her experience of the brutal incident, holding on to the fear that she could burst into tears at any minute. She was one of the many victims of the Lekki Jakande Estate building demolitions in March 2024. The demolitions were targeted at illegal or informal structures popularly known as ‘attachments’ to recover land for the Lagos–Calabar coastal highway project.

According to the victims, the initial plan was to demolish the attachments closest to the Lekki beach, obstructing the construction of the highway. However, resistance from some young boys triggered a violent response from the police with tear gas and shooting. The victims believe that the resistance led to the expansion of the demolition to their houses, schools and markets, which were away from the Lekki beach. There was no eviction notice from the government for the victims...