Human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), has added his voice to the growing condemnation of the demolition of scores of buildings in Oworonshoki area of Lagos.
He described the action as a violation of the constitution and a subsisting court order restraining the state government from carrying out the exercise.
Persecondnews reports that fresh demolition hit the Coker and Ojulari areas of Oworonshoki in Lagos State at midnight of Saturday, October 25, hours after the state government had promised to pay compensation to affected property owners.
The state government said the demolition was targeted at illegal structures built on drainage channels and road setbacks, insisting the demolitions were part of urban renewal efforts.
It further assured that additional compensation would be forthcoming for affected owners.
Falana, who spoke during an interview on Arise Television on Friday, October 31, monitored by Persecondnews, said the demolition carried out by government officials in the dead of the night was illegal and contrary to due process as provided by Nigerian laws.
He explained that under Section 43 of the 1999 Constitution, every Nigerian has the fundamental right to live and own property in any part of the country, noting that this right is further guaranteed by Article 14 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
He said: “None of the provisions of Chapter Four of the Constitution can be violated or breached by the government without following due process.
“When it comes to demolitions, there are provisions of the law. In Lagos, you have the Urban and Regional Planning Law; in Abuja, you have the Urban and Regional Planning Act. Both laws provide for statutory notices, complaint bodies, and appeal committees that can order demolition.”
Falana stressed that no governor or minister has the constitutional authority to order demolitions arbitrarily, insisting that only a competent court or legally constituted tribunal can give such an order.
“No governor, no minister has the power under the current constitutional arrangement to decide that a building has not complied with certain provisions of the law and then order its demolition.
“You have to go to court to prove that the owner has violated the law. The court would then determine whether the demolition should proceed,” he said.
Falana said affected residents who had not been compensated, approached his law firm, which subsequently obtained a restraining order from the Lagos State High Court.
“On Thursday last week, the court granted an order that no further demolition should take place until the case is properly heard. By Friday, certified true copies of the order were served on the appropriate government agencies and officials.
“However, on Saturday night, in the dead of the night, bulldozers invaded Oworonshoki. When I got the information, I contacted government officials and reminded them that the court order had been served, but one of them told me, “We are going to do it, and heaven will not fall.”
Meanwhile, the Lagos State Government had earlier denied disobeying any court order on the Oworonshoki demolition.
The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Gbenga Omotoso, said the exercise was “in line with urban renewal efforts and was carried out to restore the area’s environmental integrity.”
He maintained that the demolition affected only illegal structures built on drainage channels and road setbacks, noting that the state would never disregard valid court orders.
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