Falana Says, Lagos Waterfront Demolitions Violate Law

Femi Falana, Prominent human rights lawyer (SAN), has called on the Lagos State government to immediately cease the demolition of waterfront properties, describing the ongoing demolitions as illegal and unconstitutional.

In a statement released yesterday, Falana criticized the state government for defying multiple court rulings that had explicitly prohibited such demolitions, accusing the administration of exhibiting executive impunity.

According to Falana, the Lagos High Court ruled on June 22, 2017, that government-ordered evictions which displaced over 30,000 Nigerians were illegal and unconstitutional. Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo (now retired) determined that residents’ rights had been violated and awarded N3.5 million in damages to the claimants.

The court also prohibited future evictions, potentially protecting an estimated 270,000 residents from losing their waterfront homes. The judgment directed state authorities to engage affected communities in discussions about resettlement plans as part of any urban renewal initiative.

Additionally, on August 25, 2025, Justice F.N. Ogazi of the Federal High Court in Lagos issued a restraining order preventing the Lagos State government, its agencies, and the Nigeria Police Force from conducting further demolitions or evictions in the Makoko, Oko-Agbon, Sogunro, and Iwaya waterfront communities.

This order aimed to protect settlements facing “continuous threat and fear of imminent demolition.” The ruling followed years of conflict between waterfront communities and the state government, which residents accuse of forcibly acquiring land for private development without providing compensation or resettlement arrangements.

Despite these court orders, Falana stated that the Lagos State government has continued demolishing waterfront properties, including schools and medical facilities. He noted that some citizens have died during these operations while thousands have been displaced.

Falana emphasized that the state’s actions also violate a Supreme Court judgment delivered on January 7, 2024, in a dispute between the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) and Lagos State Government. The apex court ruled that federal law grants exclusive control of inland waterways to the federal government through NIWA.

The Supreme Court clarified that NIWA possesses “powers to exclusively manage, direct and control all activities on navigable waters and its right of way throughout the country for inland navigation,” pursuant to Sections 8 and 9 of the NIWA Act.

Given this federal jurisdiction over inland waterways, Falana argued that the demolitions in Lagos waterfront communities are “illegal, unconstitutional and contemptuous,” representing clear sabotage of the judiciary.

While urging the Lagos State government to comply with existing court judgments and stop further demolitions and evictions, Falana reminded Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of the precedent set in The Military Governor of Lagos State v Chief Emeka Ojukwu, where even the defunct military junta complied with a Supreme Court order by returning disputed property at Oyinkan Abayomi Drive to the respondent.

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