Amnesty International accuse Lagos State Govt. of human rights violation

By Wale Odunsi

Amnesty International has accused the Lagos State government of gross violation of human rights.
It said the government erred by demolishing houses of residents of Oke Ilu-Eri area, Ijora Badia, in the state.
A statement by the London based group appealed to the state to henceforth, stop such inconsiderate evictions, which it said commenced on Saturday 23 February 2013, at about 9am.
“According to the Nigerian NGO, Social and Economic Rights Action Center (SERAC), which has been working with leaders of the community since Wednesday to try to prevent the demolition, at least 300 houses have been demolished so far with hundreds of people displaced” the statement read.
“SERAC said about 200 heavily armed police officers supervised the demolition and several residents who tried to resist the demolition were beaten up by the police.”
The statement lamented thus, “no adequate notice was given to the residents of the community before the demolition commenced” noting further that “on Wednesday 20 February, a notice of eviction was given to the Baale (the traditional district head) of the community – just three days before the demolition started.”

The human rights body also observed that “no compensation has been paid to residents; the evicted people have not been offered alternative housing and many people have been displaced.”
It affirmed that “The demolished houses included both wooden and concrete structures. Some of the displaced residents owned their homes, while many were poor tenants.”
“The eviction of people from their homes without the appropriate legal and procedural action, including prior and adequate consultation, adequate notice and the provision of adequate alternative housing constitute a forced eviction and is a gross violation of human rights, including the right to adequate housing” said Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Africa, Lucy Freeman.
DailyPost