Oloye lamented that the state government did not only demolish his house and render him homeless but the demolition took away his only son, Segun from him.
Oloye Sope, one of the victims who were forcibly evicted and their houses demolished in Oworonshoki community in the Kosofe Local Government Area of Lagos State by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu's administration, has lamented how his only son died during the demolition exercise.
Speaking in a one-minute 29-second video recorded by the Take It Back Movement, Oloye lamented that the state government did not only demolish his house and render him homeless but the demolition took away his only son, Segun from him.
He said that on the day his five-year-old son died, the task force was carrying out the demolition and while he struggled to pack some of his properties into his car, he asked his wife to take his son into the car but while moving to the car, “then my son fell. I asked them to take him to the hospital so that I will continue to hustle to park our belongings.
“Before they could take him out, the people (Lagos Task Force) had blocked the way. My son died in the process. His name is Segun. He was my only son. He was going to school. He was a five-year-old boy.”
Oloye added that before the incident, his son asked, "Dad, where are we relocating to?"
"I said I also don't know,” Oloye said.
The Take It Back Movement noted that Oloye is one of the victims who have suffered irreparable losses “due to the cruelty of the Lagos State government,” and “deserves nothing other than justice.”
He lamented that “if they demolish the house and we are still alive, we can achieve more".
The human rights movement vowed to "fight alongside the Nigerian people to give him (Oloye) justice,” adding, “Nigerians refuse to be the lamb that is sacrificed on the altar of the insatiable greed of an elite few.”
SaharaReporters had reported how residents of Oworonshoki and Idi Araba communities in the Kosofe and Mushin local government areas of the state were thrown into lamentation in July as Governor Sanwo-Olu's administration continued the demolition of their houses without providing them with alternative shelters.
SaharaReporters gathered that the state government through the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources had issued the affected residents only one week's notice to vacate their homes, a notice that elapsed on July 27, 2023.
Community sources told SaharaReporters that over 20 houses were reduced to rubble, while the enforcement authorities reportedly denied them the opportunity to remove their belongings that could be salvaged.