Otodo Gbame children and parents in court on April 6, 2017Houses are being set on fire and people are being chased into boats right now by the Nigerian Police Force at Otodo Gbame, a fishing, waterfront community in Lagos, as a ruthless and illegal land grab ordered by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode escalates.
“Police are back in Otodo Gbame en masse, firing tear gas, chasing people into boats, houses set on fire. Happening now,” said Justice and Empowerment Initiative, the legal team representing waterfront communities in Nigeria.
“Yesterday (Saturday), 5 people were shot and 1 shot/killed in violent attack on community. Ruthless land grab in process, complete disregard for court order, rule of law,” the organisation said in a text message to THE SIMON ATEBA NEWS.
Officers in charge told residents that they were on orders from Governor Ambode and the Commissioner for the Environment. There were three black police vans and about 60 policemen on ground, witnesses said.
Policemen at Otodo Gbame on April 9 2017 
Policemen at Otodo Gbame on April 9 2017
Community leaders had earlier told THE SIMON ATEBA NEWS that policemen had arrived on boats and land on Sunday morning and began to shoot, a day after suspected hired thugs killed a resident and shot six others in an attempt to continue with the illegal demolition of Otodo Gbame, a fishing community in Lekki area of Lagos.
“They are shooting right now. There are serious problems in Otodo Gbame,” one activist said before her phone went silent.
Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos ordered the demolition of Otodo Gbame on March 17 against a January 26 court ruling that the demolition should be halted as it was illegal and unconstitutional. Between that day and now, activists have said that at least 4700 people have been rendered homeless.
On Saturday, THE SIMON ATEBA NEWS visited the area after shooting claimed the life of one man who was married to two wives and had three children.
Mother and her one-year old son were uncontrollable when our team visited. Their breadwinner had just been killed by hired thugs. (Watch).
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Residents told THE SIMON ATEBA NEWS that they believed the thugs, who were wielding dangerous weapons, were sponsored by the same people who have been demolishing their homes since March 17.
Several other people were shot and injured in the early morning attack, which took the community by surprise.
Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos ordered the latest demolition of Otodo Gbame, which has already left about 4700 people homeless since March 17.
The Saturday’s attack 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 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.
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode (2nd left); Attorney General & Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Adeniji Kazeem (left); Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Olufunmilyo Atilade (2nd right) and Chairman, House Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights, Public Petitions & LASIEC, Hon. Fummilayo Tejuosho (right) during the swearing-in ceremony of Three Judges of the Lagos State High Court at the Banquet Hall, Lagos House, Ikeja, on Wednesday, March 8, 2017.
The Otodo Gbame community approached the court on March 30 because of the ongoing demolition, which began on March 17 against a court ruling Justice Onigbanjo delivered on January 26 ordering all parties to maintain the status quo and stop demolition.
The judge ordered Governor Ambode, the Commissioner of Police, the Attorney-General of Lagos, the Commissioner of Physical Planning and Urban Development to appear before the court next week Thursday to give reason why they should not be remanded in prison for disobeying that January 26 court order.
On Thursday, no government official showed up. Only children, babies and women of Otodo Gbame community evicted by Governor Ambode could be seen in court with their legal team.
Otodo Gbame’s Kids in court today with their parents. April 6, 2017 
Otodo Gbame’s Kids in court today with their parents. April 6, 2017 
Otodo Gbame’s Kids in court today with their parents. April 6, 2017
At least 4700 residents have been rendered homeless at Otodo Gbame, a fishing, waterfront and ancestral community located in Lekki area of Lagos.
Last week, Megan Chapman of Justice and Empowerment Initiative Nigeria (JEI), the legal team representing waterfront communities as they seek justice from the Lagos state government, narrated how Justice Onigbanjo was very upset about the ongoing demolition of Otodo Gbame.
(Listen to what she said below)
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The Lagos state government on March 29 suddenly and unilaterally withdrew from the court-ordered mediation process that had presented a small glimmer of hope to waterfront communities whose houses are frequently and illegally being demolished by a government displaying total disdain for the rule of law.
In late October 2016, after trying to engage the Lagos State Government unsuccessfully, 15 waterfront communities approached the Lagos State High Court to seek protection of their fundamental rights against the threat of eviction issued by the Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode.
Evicted residents were overjoyed when, on 26 January 2017, Honourable Justice S.A. Onigbanjo of the Lagos State High Court issued a landmark ruling.
Justice Onigbanjo ruled that demolitions on short notice without providing alternative shelter for persons evicted constitutes cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment in violation of Section 34 of the 1999 Constitution, and ordered the parties to attempt mediation through the Lagos State Multi-Door Court House.
Residents said they came to mediation process in good faith and put forward workable proposals regarding alternatives to demolition and forced eviction that could address the various excuses the State Government has tried to use to justify its intention to demolish their homes.
Even after the State Government began demolishing one of their communities, Otodo Gbame, forcibly evicting 4,700 residents in violation of a court order, they still came back to the roundtable on 29 March 2017.
“It was therefore a great shock to us that the State Government decided to unilaterally withdraw from the mediation process and give up on the possibility of any resolution through dialogue,” Nigerian slums and informal settlement said in a statement to THE SIMON ATEBA NEWS.
“This step is also at extreme odds with the public statement made by the Lagos State Commissioner of Information on 22 March 2017 affirming the Government’s “unflinching commitment to the development of Lagos State as an ideal megacity that is sensitive to the needs of the public as well as open and continuous dialogue,” they said.
They added: “Waterfront communities across Lagos are home to hundreds of thousands of hard-working, law-abiding citizens. This is where we live and where many of us work. Our businesses – from fishing to sand dealing – and our labour add to the Lagos economy.
“We are the engine of the Lagos economy and we have a right to the city. We do not have any other home.
“Since last year, the Government has tried to offer so many excuses for wanting to destroy our homes and take over the waterfronts. We have proffered alternative ways of resolving each of these concerns, but it seems the Government is not ready to listen nor is it really dedicated to trying to find lasting, citizen-centered solutions to complex urban problems.
“Evictions do not make Lagos safer. Instead, they push the urban poor into deeper poverty through homelessness and loss of livelihoods. Worsened poverty only exacerbates crime. Evictions are not the answer. We need to partner to find lasting solutions to insecurity.
“Evictions will not make Lagos the “ideal megacity” it aspires to be. Lagos is a megacity by virtue of its population. We, the urban poor, are part of that population. It seems that Lagos wants we, the urban poor, to simply disappear. We cannot and will not disappear.
“But, if we had support and partnership from our Government such as can be seen in other megacities in the global south, we could develop our communities through in situ slum upgrading and social housing. Indeed, Federation is building community-financed environmentally sustainable toilet solutions to improve sanitation and public health in our communities. Federation is developing a social housing scheme and planning toward in situ slum upgrading. We are learning from the successes of peers in cities around the world.
“Why should the Government we elected into power turn its back on dialogue with us when we are still at the table? When we came to the table despite the massive impunity and violation of our members’ human rights perpetrated by the State Government with the callous demolitions and violent attacks on Otodo Gbame on 9-10 November, displacing 30,000 people, and on 17, 21, 22 and 26 March 2017, displacing another 4,700?
“Instead of dialoguing with us to find win-win solutions, this Government wants to drive the poor from the city by demolishing our homes, taking over our lands, destroying our livelihoods and, very soon, getting rid of our principal means of transportation!”