Heavy machinery from the Lagos State government descended upon the Precious Seed area of Oworonsoki on Thursday, reducing hundreds of structures to rubble and leaving more than 3,000 residents without shelter in a controversial demolition exercise.
Residents' Lives Turned Upside Down
The community, which housed approximately 260 structures of various sizes, was caught by surprise when bulldozers began pulling down buildings early Thursday morning. Many residents claimed they received minimal warning, with some saying they were only informed on Wednesday evening about the impending demolition.
Among the most affected was Mrs. Omolayo Oluwabunmi, a widow who lost her husband just four months ago. Visibly shaken as she spoke, Oluwabunmi declared her intention to remain in her home despite the demolition threat. "I cannot stand it that the building will be demolished. So, I will stay here till the building is pulled down on me," she stated emotionally.
The widow insisted that she and her late husband had been law-abiding property owners, having paid yearly land-use charges for over a decade and maintaining all necessary documentation for their building.
Pattern of Displacement Continues
Investigations revealed that this wasn't the first displacement for many residents. Several families had previously been evicted from Otodo Gbame in Eti-Osa Local Council in 2017, only to find temporary refuge in Precious Seed. Some had even experienced intermediate displacement from Mosafejo Oworo in 2023 before settling in their now-demolished community.
The demolition operation was reportedly supervised by heavily armed policemen and alleged thugs, creating an atmosphere of fear and intimidation during the exercise.
Christian Adesanya, a Senior Secondary School 1 student at Muslims Senior College, Oworo, left school around 10 am upon learning that her family's building had been demolished. "There is no way I would return to school on Friday," she lamented, having missed classes to salvage her family's belongings.
Conflicting Accounts and Political Betrayal
Local cleric Kuton Batholomew, who has lived in the area for about 45 years, expressed frustration with the situation. He revealed that during the last election, residents were allegedly promised that voting for the All Progressive Congress (APC) would protect their buildings from demolition.
"We voted massively for APC but now all of us have been rendered homeless with the demolition of our buildings," Batholomew stated, highlighting what many residents perceive as political betrayal.
When confronted about the situation, Olumuyiwa Adu, Director of Public Affairs for the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), maintained that all affected building owners were properly served notices. He emphasized that the state government had been "magnanimous" in compensating affected residents, even those without proper title documents.
The demolition has raised serious questions about urban development policies, displacement patterns, and the adequacy of compensation mechanisms in Nigeria's commercial capital.
