Lamentations at Otodogbame

Jesusegun Alagbe
Aug 24, 2017 · 2 min read

Friday, March 17, 2017 was a day thousands of displaced residents of Otodogbame, a fishing settlement on the outskirts of Lekki, Lagos will forever remember. Security forces were said to have used gunfire and tear gas to make way for demolition of people’s houses. It was one hellish of a day.

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Friday, March 17th 2017 is one to be remembered by the thousands of residents of Otodo Gbame, a fishing settlement in the outskirts of Lekki, Lagos.

Security forces were reported to have used gunfire and tear gas to make way for demolitions.

Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode had on October 9, 2016 given a one week ultimatum that residents of the waterfront community evict the settlement.

According to reports, the Incorporated Trustees of Community Legal Support Initiative and 35 occupants of various waterfront communities had approached a Lagos State High Court at Igbosere, seeking an injunction “restraining the state government from carrying out its planned demolition of waterfront communities across the state and preventing the government or its agents from evicting occupants of the community pending the hearing of the suit.”

However, fire razed the community in November 2016, forcing some of the residents to evacuate the settlement. The shanties were then demolished by the state government, which led to the displacement of about 10,000 residents of the community.

“All my belongings are gone,” Monsurat Tijani, 48, said. “My two children and I are homeless; we now live under the bridge.”

(Note: I’m testing publishing on Medium.)

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Jesusegun Alagbe

Written by

Award-winning journalist at The Punch Newspapers, Lagos, Nigeria • Writer • Thinker.

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