More than 1,000 Makoko residents and displaced families marched to the Lagos State House of Assembly to protest ongoing demolition work in their community. The demonstrators refused police orders to disperse, demanding instead to speak directly with the Lagos state governor, whose office is located nearby, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
Authorities, supported by armed police and excavators, have been tearing down homes in Makoko, arguing that the stilted wooden houses were illegally built near high-voltage power lines. The demolitions have displaced thousands of residents who rely on the floating community for shelter and livelihood.
Police responded to the standoff by firing tear gas to clear the crowd. One protester suffered a leg injury during the chaos and was taken to hospital. A demonstrator, Yawo Gburo, said the injured person had lost his home and was now facing life with a disability following the confrontation.
Makoko began as a fishing settlement more than a century ago and has grown into a vast informal community built above the Lagos Lagoon. Population estimates vary widely, ranging from 80,000 to 200,000 residents, according to non-profit organizations.
Lagos, home to more than 20 million people, continues to struggle with severe housing shortages. Rapid urban growth has fueled the rise of informal settlements, placing authorities under pressure to redevelop prime land while leaving vulnerable communities at risk of displacement.
The latest protests underscore the social tensions created by urban redevelopment in Africa’s largest city, where efforts to modernize infrastructure increasingly collide with the realities of poverty and limited housing alternatives.
