Spaces for Change (S4C) has strongly condemned the demolition of more than 100 homes in the Oworonshoki area of Lagos State, allegedly carried out by officials of the Lagos State Government Task Force in the early hours of Saturday, October 26, 2025.
In a statement signed by its Executive Director, Victoria Ibezim-Ohaeri, the group described the exercise as “a flagrant disregard for the rule of law and the rights of residents,” noting that the demolitions were executed despite a subsisting court order restraining the government from taking such actions.
Preliminary findings by the organisation revealed that the demolition team, comprising officials from the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development and the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), was accompanied by more than 50 armed policemen. The task force reportedly began pulling down houses at midnight, when most residents were asleep.
Residents alleged that those who attempted to protest were violently assaulted by armed officers, with videos circulating online showing security operatives firing live ammunition directly at protesters.
S4C noted that the matter is currently before the Lagos State High Court in Suit No. ID/9910GCM/2025. On October 23, the court had granted an interim injunction restraining the Lagos State Government, the Attorney-General, the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, and LASBCA from further demolishing buildings on Ajileru Street, Ososa Extension, and Toluwalase Extension in the Itesiwaju Ajumoni Community Development Area of Oworonshoki.
“Defying this court order, the state agencies, together with armed police officers, demolished buildings and homes in the affected communities, leaving residents without opportunities to salvage their belongings,” the statement said.
The rights group recalled that less than four weeks ago, the Lagos State Government also demolished properties and businesses at the Lagos International Trade Fair Complex, describing the recent Oworonshoki incident as another example of the government’s “contempt for the right to property” guaranteed under Section 43 of the 1999 Constitution.
Citing the decision of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in SERAP v. Federal Republic of Nigeria (2002) 2 CHR 537 at 562, S4C emphasised that the right to shelter, derived from the property right, obliges the government to refrain from demolishing citizens’ homes or preventing affected communities from rebuilding them.
The group urged the Lagos State Government to immediately halt further demolitions in compliance with the court order and to ensure that victims are adequately compensated, relocated, or resettled. It also called for the prosecution of officers who violently attacked protesters.
“Consistent with our commitment to housing and urban justice, Spaces for Change will continue to monitor developments in Oworonshoki while intensifying advocacy for urban and planning reforms in Lagos State that are rooted in human rights,” the statement concluded.
