Makoko, a historic floating fishing neighborhood in Lagos, has been thrown into disaster following an ongoing demolition train by the Lagos State Authorities.

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1000’s of residents, a lot of them ladies, youngsters, widows and the aged, have been rendered homeless, with families now sleeping inside canoes, beneath open skies and beside the lagoon.

Total rows of picket properties and outlets have been pulled down, forsaking damaged planks, scattered home items and a neighborhood struggling to outlive.

Makoko, usually described as Africa’s largest floating slum, is residence to fishermen, merchants and artisans whose lives are intricately tied to the lagoon. For a lot of residents, the demolition has not solely erased their properties but additionally severed their technique of survival.

Demolition that started quietly in December

Many residents informed DAILY POST that demolition actions began in components of Makoko in December 2025, lengthy earlier than the difficulty gained public consideration.

In response to them, the operation expanded steadily, shifting deeper into the neighborhood with little engagement or dialogue.

“They began from one aspect and saved shifting,” Mr Sunday Adebayo stated, a neighborhood elder who has lived in Makoko for over twenty years.

“At first, we thought it might cease. Then it saved coming nearer. Day by day, one home after one other. By January, it turned large. That was after we knew they needed to wipe us out all in the title of growth and infrastructure. The whole lot we personal don end,” he lamented.

Earlier than the demolition, Makoko residents survived via fishing, buying and selling and small-scale companies run from their properties. Right this moment, these technique of survival are gone.

A 35-year-old fisherman, Oyomide, who spoke to DAILY POST, stated he now not is aware of tips on how to feed his household.

“Na this water we dey take survive. I dey go fishing each morning, my spouse dey smoke fish, we dey promote small-small. However when dem break home, all the things go. My web spoil. My canoe practically sink. Since that day, we by no means chop higher meals,” Oyomide stated in pidgin English.

One other resident, a mom of 4, stated starvation has change into their every day actuality.

“Earlier than, even when cash no dey, we go discover one thing chop. Now, nothing dey. No store, no home, no work. Typically my youngsters go sleep with out meals. As a mom, e dey ache me properly properly. Na on daily basis I dey get up for night time dey cry, how I do I elevate my youngsters?” She stated, preventing again tears.

A number of residents stated they misplaced money financial savings, items, fishing instruments and home items throughout the demolition.

“Dem no even give us time. We no match pack something. My cash wey I maintain for home, my radio, my mattress, all the things don go,” an aged man stated.

Many residents informed DAILY POST that they had been born in Makoko, similar to their dad and mom and grandparents.

A 52-year-old fisherman, Balogun Adekunle, stated his household has lived in the neighborhood for over 4 a long time.

“My father lived right here. I used to be born right here. I grew up right here. Now my youngsters reside right here. For greater than 40 years, that is the one residence we’ve identified,” he stated.

One other resident, Mrs Bidemi, a widow with three youngsters, stated she has no different residence.

“My husband died 5 years in the past in a ghastly accident round Ikorodu. This home is all we now have to outlive. Now they’ve destroyed it. I’m alone, with no household assist. The place am I alleged to go?” She cried.

Sleeping in canoes, drenched by rain

Because the demolition, displaced residents say the Lagos State Authorities has not supplied any Internally Displaced Individuals, IDPs, camp or non permanent shelter.

When rain falls, they get drenched. When the solar comes out, there is no such thing as a shade. At night time, mosquitoes assault freely. At night time, moms maintain their youngsters tightly inside picket boats.

“If rain fall, na rain go beat us. If solar scorching, na solar go burn us. Mosquito no dey worry anyone. Dem break my store. The whole lot wey I promote scatter. How my youngsters wan chop?”

“In case you wey dey interview us now no know, no be solely us dey undergo this factor. Ask a lot individuals dey wey no get home too. Perhaps the federal government no need our progress, as a result of how we gained take begin all the things afresh now?” A younger man informed DAILY POST in Pidgin English.

A father of 5 stated his youngsters now fall sick usually.

“My pikin dey cough each night time. Chilly dey fear dem. We no get roof once more. I no know wetin go occur tomorrow,” he stated quietly.

Some residents stated they tried to hunt refuge with kin, however many have been turned away as a result of they don’t have any cash to contribute to feeding.

“They got here at night time… they didn’t care who was inside”

Probably the most disturbing allegations from residents is that demolition was generally carried out in a single day, with little regard for human presence.

A number of witnesses informed DAILY POST that bulldozers moved in at odd hours, whereas residents had been asleep.

“One night time, round previous midnight, we heard noise. Earlier than we might perceive what was occurring, they had been already flattening homes. Folks had been shouting. Youngsters had been crying. No person listened,” Mr Adekunle Hassan stated.

Others alleged that some homes had been set on fireplace, forcing occupants to flee.

“They burnt homes whereas individuals had been nonetheless inside. We ran out with solely the garments on our our bodies. My items, my cash, all the things burned,” Mrs Blessing Okonkwo, an Igbo dealer whose provision store was destroyed alleged.

Youngsters pulled out of faculty

Probably the most painful penalties of the demolition is its affect on youngsters.

A number of dad and mom informed DAILY POST that their youngsters have dropped out of faculty as a result of they’ll now not afford charges or transportation.

“My two youngsters have stopped going to highschool. Their uniforms had been destroyed. I’ve no cash. How do I clarify this to them?” Mrs Esther Ajayi stated.

Lecturers in close by colleges confirmed that attendance from Makoko pupils has dropped sharply since January.

Dying, grief and unanswered questions

Past destruction of property, residents and civil society teams allege that at the very least 12 individuals have died in reference to the demolition train, some as a result of stress, others as a result of displacement-related sickness and trauma.

DAILY POST spoke with one Mr Ibrahim Lawal, whose youthful brother reportedly died days after their residence was demolished.

“My brother was wholesome earlier than. After they destroyed our home, he turned sick. We had nowhere to sleep, no cash for hospital. He died quietly. Is that this growth?,” He requested.

One other resident, Mrs Rukayat Bello, stated her aged mom collapsed shortly after their displacement.

“Shock killed her. She saved asking the place we’d sleep. She couldn’t take it and she or he gave up peacefully,” Bello stated.

Whereas the Lagos State Authorities has not formally confirmed these deaths, residents insist that the human loss is actual and devastating.

State Authorities insists: “Beneath excessive stress”

The Lagos State Authorities has maintained that the demolished constructions had been constructed beneath high-tension energy strains, posing hazard to lives.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu stated the buildings had been marked way back and that residents had been conscious of the dangers.

In response to the governor, the train was carried out to forestall lack of lives and guarantee security.

He additionally said that compensation was being organized for affected residents, insisting that the federal government didn’t act abruptly.

Nonetheless, a number of residents insist that lots of the demolished constructions had been nowhere close to high-tension energy strains, contradicting the state authorities’s justification.

“How can they are saying it’s about security after they destroy locations that aren’t even shut?

“Some homes they destroyed are greater than 500 metres away from the high-tension cables,” Mrs Funke Olawale, whose residence and store had been demolished, counters the federal government claims.

Lagos State Home of Meeting backs demolition regardless of protests

Because the disaster intensified, the Lagos State Home of Meeting took a tough political stance that enraged residents.

On 20 January 2026, lawmakers formally backed the controversial demolition, dismissing the repeated protests by Makoko residents and civil society teams.

The Chairman, Home Committee on Data, Safety and Technique, Mr Stephen Ogundipe, stated the train was a needed step to safeguard the lives and property of residents in the state.

He stated: “It’s fairly worrisome that we now have ramshackle constructions, sheds and shanties, particularly alongside shorelines.

“The shorelines have turned to abodes of miscreants/road urchins, kidnappers, touts, road merchants and hawkers, who usually vandalise public utilities and assault harmless residents.

“Though the demolition train could also be painful for these affected, it’s a needed step to guard the bigger society and uphold the rule of regulation.

“The federal government’s motion displays a dedication to stopping avoidable disasters and guaranteeing sustainable city growth.”

However residents noticed it as a refusal to even take heed to the voices of the individuals whose lives are being destroyed.

“We protested. We cried. We carried indicators. We chanted that our properties matter. However the Meeting stated growth should proceed, even when it kills us,” Mr Adewale, a youth chief in Makoko stated.

Sanwo-Olu and Ezekwesili commerce phrases

The demolition has sparked heated debate between authorities officers and nationwide figures.

Former Training Minister, Oby Ezekwesili condemned the Lagos State Authorities’s actions, labelling them inhumane, unconstitutional and oppressive, particularly as a result of individuals had been being displaced with no clear resettlement plan.

“What we’re seeing will not be security. It’s systemic violence in opposition to the poor.

“A authorities that modifications its personal guidelines to justify destruction of properties will not be defending residents, it’s betraying them,” she informed journalists.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu responded by defending the demolition, insisting it was a matter of public security as a result of constructions had been constructed beneath high-tension wires.

He additionally accused some NGOs of making an attempt to revenue from the disaster by securing funds with out successfully serving to residents.

“Some teams are utilizing this case to draw {dollars} from abroad, then they don’t attain the individuals they declare to assist. We’re addressing security, however others wish to flip this right into a enterprise,” the governor stated.

NGOs and civil rights advocates have strongly rejected the accusation, calling it an try and shift duty away from the federal government’s failure to offer humane options.

Equally, a Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Joe Igbokwe, decried what he described as the continual demolition of Igbo properties in Lagos, saying many lawful householders and enterprise operators, notably Igbo residents, have suffered comparable demolitions with out truthful compensation.

In a submit on his official Fb web page, Igbokwe stated he has obtained quite a few calls from fellow Igbo on how their homes are being demolished by officers of the state authorities.

“Tons of of Igbo in Lagos have known as me hours on finish to complain of shedding their homes. I’m besieged on a regular basis on this matter,” Igbokwe stated.

In response to him, Igbos are a robust pressure in the expansion of Lagos, stating that “having been in Lagos for over 40 years, I do know their humongous funding of Igbo in Lagos”.

“I’m besieged. I’m drained. I’m exhausted. I’m choked up. I’m diminished. I’m weak. I’m beneath strain on a regular basis. I desire a resolution to this severe matter.

“I would like bridges for understanding. I would like bridges for mutual relationships. I would like peaceable peace in Lagos. I desire a new cope with Igbo and the Yorubas in Lagos”, he stated.

The APC chieftain appealed to the state governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to “look into the matter and discover an amicable resolution to the issue.”

A future crammed with worry

As night time falls on Makoko, worry hangs heavy in the air. Fishermen stare on the water, uncertain if they’ll nonetheless fish. Merchants surprise tips on how to begin once more. Mother and father fear about tips on how to feed their youngsters the following day.

For now, Makoko stays a neighborhood floating between loss and uncertainty, an emblem of how growth, when poorly dealt with, can destroy lives sooner than it builds cities.