Lagos State Government orders demolition of 500 illegal structures in Ilaje Bariga

The Lagos State Government has ordered the demolition of 500 structures and immediate eviction of the 2,000 inhabitants, who are mostly fishermen, at Ilaje in Bariga Local Government Area, Lagos State.

The government said the move had become necessary in to ensure the security of the state and to enhance the beauty of its beaches.

The state Commissioner for Waterfront and Infrastructure Development, Mr. Adesegun Oniru, who led a team of government officials to Ilaje Bariga, said the movement would affect those living on the water body from Bariga up to Lagoon Front at the University of Lagos.

He added that the government would dislodge other illegal occupants along all the beaches in the state.

Oniru, who later addressed the leaders of the inhabitants of the area, said government could no longer fold its arms and watch the nuisance posed by the illegal structures on its waterfronts.

He added that the structures in Bariga, which are largely shanties, were visible from the Third Mainland Bridge. He noted that the structures had become an eyesore.

The commissioner said, “We have come here to warn you to leave this place; we will not come back here to warn you again. The bridge you see there is an international link bridge, and we do not like the nuisance these shanties are creating here, we do not want them near the bridge anymore. We also feel that they (shanties) are creating a security problem.

“We urged a fast and immediate movement because we will soon come back and when we do, the government will clear this area itself.”

Oniru said the state had earlier served the dwellers a notice to quit the area. He lamented that their continued stay in the place had also been posing an environmental threat to the state.

The commissioner also insisted that there was no plan to compensate those that would be affected by the ejection order.

He said, “Why will you relocate or compensate someone that is not supposed to be in this area in the first place? There are people here along the waterfront, they are not supposed to be here, they should move away from there and I don’t believe that a plan should be put in place to relocate them.”

Oniru added that the government would dredge and deepen the water to prevent other people from relocating to the area after ejecting the residents.