At least one person has been killed and several others injured at Otodo Gbame, a fishing, waterfront community in Lagos, as Governor Akinwunmi Ambode continues with his illegal demolition, which has already left about 4700 people homeless since March 17.
The attack, by sponsored thugs on Saturday morning, took residents of the impoverished community by surprise.
It came two days after Governor Ambode, the Commissioner of Police and others failed to show up in court on Thursday April 6, as ordered by a judge.
Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo of the Lagos High Court ordered government officials on March 30 to appear in court on April 6 and explain why they have continued with the illegal demolition of Otodo Gbame since March 17 against a court ruling that it was unlawful.
With the law on their side, residents, including children and babies, returned to their community on Thursday peacefully after they waited endlessly in court for hours for government officials to appear. But on Saturday, thugs with guns and other dangerous weapons invaded their community and began to shoot.
By the time they were done, several people were injured and one had died already.
In Nigeria, such attacks are often sponsored by those who want to take the precious land from the poor illegally.