Human rights activist and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has called on the Lagos State Government to immediately halt the ongoing demolition of waterfront properties, describing the actions as a “brazen display of executive impunity.”
In a statement released recently, the senior lawyer asserted that the state government’s continued evictions and destruction of schools and medical centers are “illegal, unconstitutional, and contemptuous” of standing judicial orders.
Falana noted that the government’s actions have led to the loss of lives and the displacement of thousands of citizens, including those in the Makoko, Oko-Agbon, Sogunro, and Iwaya communities.
The lawyer highlighted a series of legal setbacks for the state, including a June 2017 Lagos High Court judgment.
In that ruling, Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo declared the eviction of over 30,000 residents unconstitutional and ordered a stop to future evictions without resettlement plans.
More recently, on August 25, 2025, Justice F.N. Ogazi of the Federal High Court restrained the state and the Nigeria Police Force from carrying out further unlawful demolitions in the affected waterfront settlements.
Falana further argued that the state’s actions directly contravene a January 7, 2024, Supreme Court decision. The apex court ruled that the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) holds exclusive control over all activities on navigable waters and their rights of way.
According to Falana, this ruling strips the Lagos State Government of the legal authority to manage or demolish structures within these specific areas.
In urging Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to comply with these subsisting judgments, Falana cited the historical precedent of The Military Governor of Lagos State v. Chief Emeka Ojukwu.
He reminded the current administration that even the former military junta respected the Supreme Court’s order to restore disputed property to its rightful occupant.
The human rights lawyer concluded by describing the state’s persistent disregard for court orders as a “glaring sabotage of the judicial arm of government.”
He maintained that the urban renewal policy of the state must prioritize the constitutional rights and resettlement of vulnerable residents over forceful acquisition for private development.
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