28 September 2015
Lagos,
Nigeria
Friends of
Badia East from across civil society have come together to strongly condemn the
forced evictions that began in Badia East, Lagos State, Nigeria, on 18
September 2015. Once again, thousands have been rendered homeless at the peak
of torrential rainfall, leaving scores of women and children to sleep under
makeshift shelters at the demolition site. The heavy rains that fell throughout
the Eid-el-Kabir (Sallah) holiday highlighted the misery of homelessness.
As evening
fell on the Sallah holiday, two young women each holding young babies huddled
under a tarpaulin shelter as the rain fell. One of them, Mrs. Olabisi Malomo
bounced her crying baby on her knee as she recounted what happened, “I stay here, I make 25 years at this
railway line. When they want demolish our house, they just come without
information, say they want demolish. One night we just see caterpillar
(bulldozer). Some people say they want do gutter. It no reach four hours when
all them police and people who do demolition come. They say we should begin to
pack our load. It no reach 30 minutes before they begin demolish everywhere.”
Since the
demolition, Olabisi Malomo has been sleeping in a makeshift shelter with her
six children, her elderly mother, her sister and neighbors and their children.
Before the demolition, she worked as a petty trader, but all her goods were
lost in the demolition. “I am sleeping
outside with my six children. As rain is falling now, we are under the rain.
The way they do us for this community, it’s not good. In this Nigeria, they
treat we poor people like we’re goats. We aren’t goats; we are human beings.
They should help us. We have suffered too much.”
Based on the lack of adequate notice, the
failure to identify and consult with the persons to be affected, and the total
disregard for persons who are left homeless without alternative as a result of
the ongoing demolition, we consider the demolitions carried out to be a forced
eviction and, as such, a grave violation of human rights law and statutory
provisions in force in Nigeria. We note that, without the requisite protections
in place, even an eviction carried out in accordance with a judicial decision
can amount to a forced eviction, according to the United Nations Office of the
High Commissioner for Human Rights and UN Habitat, among others.
The forced
eviction started on 18-19 September and continued again on 22 September, moving
from Badia East toward Badia West, displacing more than 10,000 people to date.
Although technically a private demolition exercise by the traditional
landowners, the Ojora Chieftaincy Family, the Nigerian Police Force and Lagos
State Government have been providing material support throughout the exercise. Scores
of policemen have been on ground every day, with a police officer seen riding
on the bulldozer itself. On Tuesday, a well-known official with the Lagos State
Physical Planning and Development Authority (LSPPDA), Mr. Tunde Olugbewesa, was
on ground throughout the day with other officials, overseeing and directing the
demolition.
In February 2013, over 9,000 people were forcibly evicted from the neighboring part of Badia East in a demolition carried out by the Lagos State Government to make way for a housing project built under the Home Ownership Mortgage Scheme (HOMS). That demolition violated the World Bank safeguard policies on involuntary resettlement, which the State Government committed to follow when it accepted $200 million to upgrade Badia and other slums in Lagos – financing intended to benefit the residents of Badia who have now been evicted.
In February 2013, over 9,000 people were forcibly evicted from the neighboring part of Badia East in a demolition carried out by the Lagos State Government to make way for a housing project built under the Home Ownership Mortgage Scheme (HOMS). That demolition violated the World Bank safeguard policies on involuntary resettlement, which the State Government committed to follow when it accepted $200 million to upgrade Badia and other slums in Lagos – financing intended to benefit the residents of Badia who have now been evicted.
There is serious
concern that the Lagos State Government will use the land now being cleared to
expand its HOMS housing scheme, in which the monthly mortgage payment for the
least expensive housing unit is more than ten times the typical rent for
comparable space in Badia.
On Monday, 21
September, Badia East evictees staged a peaceful protest outside the Lagos
State Governor’s office, calling for Governor Ambode to intervene to stop the
demolition. In response, the Lagos State Government issued a temporary stoppage
order late on Tuesday.
While we applaud
the stoppage of the demolition since Tuesday evening, we remain deeply
concerned about the thousands of evictees who have suddenly been rendered
homeless, as well as the 20,000 or more others in Badia East, Badia West,
Apataaro, and other neighboring areas of Apapa LGA / Apapa-Iganmu LCDA who are
still at risk should the demolitions resume.
The demolition
has not only caused widespread homelessness, but also severe loss of livelihood
for traders, landlords, and business owners alike. Mrs. Biola Idiefo Ogunyemi, a widow and mother of six, lost two
residential buildings with a total of 38 rooms, three shops, and a bar that she
had owned since 1991. The 14-room makeshift structure that she erected behind
these buildings was also destroyed. “How
will I care for myself and my children now?” she lamented.
A young mother
of two, Abimbola Joshua, spoke as evening fell on the Sallah holiday from
inside her makeshift tent, surrounded by children escaping the rain: “The way the King Ojora Fatai treats us is
very bad, he treats us as slaves. I want Fatai Ojora to know that, anything he
is doing on this earth, he should remember God. Because when we finish everything on this
earth, we go to God. And God will judge everyone according to his or her
behavior on earth.”
An elderly woman
with only one good leg, using a single zinc sheet to cover her and a mother nursing
a 1.5-month-old baby next to her from the rain, pleaded: “Make the Government help us beg Aromire Fatai to leave us alone. Make
him forgive us. We have suffered too much.”
We join the
victims in calling for the Ojora Chieftaincy Family and the Lagos State
Government put a final halt to these demolitions. We implore urgent protective
action for the victims by the Lagos State Government and the Federal
Government, both of which have the legal responsibility of preventing forced
evictions, protecting victims, and ensuring effective remedy.
At a United
Nations summit just days ago, President Buhari publicly committed Nigeria to
the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, which sets goals for eradication of
poverty and rights-based upgrading of slums. It is high time for such
commitments to be felt in places like Badia.
1.
That the Federal
Government of Nigerian and the Lagos State Government take all necessary steps
to ensure there are no further forced evictions;
2.
That people
already forcibly evicted be returned to their rebuilt homes, or provided an
adequate and satisfactory alternative, and compensated for all their losses;
and
3.
That persons
rendered homeless, especially women, children and other vulnerable populations,
be given immediate humanitarian assistance, including adequate temporary
shelter while long-term solutions are in process.
SIGNED BY FRIENDS
OF BADIA EAST:
1. Center for
Advancement of Development Rights, CEADER), www.ceader.org
2.
Justice & Empowerment Initiatives (JEI), www.justempower.org
3. Spaces for
Change (S4C), www.spacesforchange.org
4.
Nigerian Slum/Informal Settlement Federation,
www.facebook.com/NigerianFederation.net
5. Centre for
Defense of Human Rights & Democracy In Africa (CDHRDA), www.cdhrda.org
6. CEE-HOPE
Nigeria, ceehopeng.blogspot.com
7. White Code
Centre, whitecodecentre.org
8. Media Concern
Initiative for Women and Children
9. Network on
Police Reform in Nigeria (NOPRIN), www.noprin.org
10. Global Rights
Nigeria, www.globalrights.org
11. Development
Innovation Matters
12. Rural &
Urban Development Initiative (RUDI)
13. Ore Disu
14. Olamide Udo-Udoma
15. Nseabasi
Effiong Umoh
16. ‘Toyin
Elegbede-Gbadegesin
17. Ifesowapo
Youth Initiative
18. Steve
Aborisade