Lagos: Amnesty International condemns violent eviction of Oworonshoki residents

Amnesty International, on Wednesday, faulted the Lagos State government for conducting violent and forced evictions in Oworonshoki, a community in Kosofe Local Government Area.
In a statement posted via its official Facebook handle, the rights group recalled a Tuesday incident involving a newborn and a five-year-old child, reportedly killed as police enforced eviction of residents on the orders of the Lagos state government.
Amnesty International said, “Yesterday’s forced eviction was one of the most violent, with bulldozers pulling down homes while families were still inside and setting homes on fire. Some children have been declared missing in the chaos created by utter impunity.”
Expressing concern, the group decried the aftermath of the repeated, violent and forced evictions, which have continued to render hundreds of families homeless and livelihoods destroyed, in disregard for international law bearing on human dignity.
“Lagos must be an inclusive city. A mega Lagos must not come at the expense of the lives and livelihood of communities living in poverty that are being punished for the decades of government’s urban planning failures,” Amnesty International said.
Spelling its primary demand, the rights group called on the Lagos state government to temporarily suspend the mass evictions of residents in Oworonshoki.
It also urged Governor Babajide Sanwoolu’s administration to investigate the continued use of violence during evictions, as well as provide effective compensation to all affected residents and property owners, whose human rights have been violated.
We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.
More from Peoples Gazette

Agriculture
FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology
The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices

Politics
Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku
“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

States
Over 200 lecturers, including professors, have left KASU: ASUU
He attributed the development to poor remuneration and declining welfare conditions in the university.

States
Five farmers die as boat capsizes in Niger
Hussaini Ibrahim, spokesman for the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA) said the victims were four men and one female.

World
U.S. hiker struck dead by lightning on Mount Etna
Mount Etna is Europe’s tallest active volcano, which sits at over 3,000 above Sicily’s eastern coast.

States
NDLEA destroys over 4,600kg of cannabis in Edo, nabs 10
Mr Ofoyeju said that the operations were carried out at Ugboku, Igbanke Forest.

NationWide
PANDEF seeks devolution of powers, stronger fiscal federalism
Mr Igali said restructuring is not about breaking up Nigeria, but strengthening Nigeria.

States
NSE calls for engineering innovation to tackle Nigeria’s security challenges
The chairman urged young engineers to embrace continuous professional development.






