One of the affected residents said her house and shop were demolished on the same day by the state government and since then she has been without anything.
Residents of Oworonshoki community in the Kosofe local government of Lagos State have narrated how the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu-led Lagos State government demolished their houses and rendered them homeless without giving them prior notice for evacuation.
The residents recounted bitter ordeals while speaking in a video interview where they were also heard narrating how the state government ordered security officers to set fire to their residences and shops in the neighbourhood without allowing them to take their belongings.
One of the affected residents said her house and shop were demolished on the same day by the state government and since then she has been without anything.
She said, “They (my neighbours) told me they were outside, they were parking their luggage. I said I would be there before 10am, but I left my office after 10am. But before I reached there, they had demolished the house. As I was running from the community down to my house, I did not know I was also a victim while I was encouraging others to take heart. I did not know I was a victim until I arrived at home where my shop was also situated.
“I was weak and fatigued and could not do anything. I felt dejected and helpless and left that day. The next day I decided to come back and park my things from my shop, that was when someone called me and told me they were demolishing my shop. I ran from my husband's house in Bariga to this community. I only built my house here. Before I reached here, they had destroyed my goods in my shops. I did not take anything from the shop. As I reached the junction, I met Mopol personnel. Since the demolition, I don’t have anything.”
Caroline Idulani believed that the government would be better off killing her and her elderly husband than destroying everything they had worked for their entire lives and leaving them to live without anything to sustain them in their old age.
She said, “We were seated here on the fateful day, suddenly we saw houses being set ablaze. Then we realised they have set houses ablaze. I immediately called my children to begin parking our properties, whatever they could carry before the total destruction. When we saw them, we saw about 50 policemen. They attacked my tenant and destroyed her container. I confronted them and asked why they were demolishing our properties without notice. They also attacked and shot at anyone filming them with their phone. They started shooting and threatened to kill anyone who disobeyed them. We don’t know why they demolished our houses. They came with a caterpillar to demolish our houses. Feeding has been difficult since the incident.
“We don't have house again. It would have been better for the government to kill me and my husband rather than destroying our properties which had subjected us to hopelessness at old age,” she added.
Adeola Fatai is another affected resident of the community who has lived there for over 30 years. He claimed that he has been sleeping outside after his house was demolished by the government.
He said, “I have been in this community for over 30 years, inside water, inside rain. We were not pre-informed when the police suddenly stormed our community. We were not given any notice and I was around that day. I am a welder and slept outside in front of my shop because I have nowhere for shelter. I have nowhere to keep my luggage.”
Funmilayo Oduntan added that the security operatives did not listen to their pleas to allow them take their valuable properties when they came for the demolition.
Her words: “I was not around the day the demolition occurred. I was not pre-informed. I was away for work. I received a call via phone that our houses were set ablaze. And my luggage and properties were inside. They were no body to call to help me park my luggage. They did not even listen to us, they just came and started burning houses. Before I arrived, all my properties have been razed down by fire. But I am grateful that none of my children were around that day. We never imagined we would be treated this way because when we voted during election for them, they did not say this is what they would use to pay us is this.”
“When the incident happened, I could not find my children. Five out of my seven children are still missing since the day of the incident; I am still looking for them. And I have been in a state of mourning since then. I did not know where to look for them,” another woman from the community added.