Human rights activist and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has condemned the Lagos State Government over the ongoing demolition of waterfront properties, describing the exercise as a “brazen display of executive impunity.”

Falana, in a statement issued recently, accused the state government of carrying out forced evictions and demolitions of homes, schools, and healthcare facilities in open defiance of subsisting court orders.

He described the continued destruction of properties in waterfront communities as illegal, unconstitutional, and contemptuous of binding judicial pronouncements.

According to the senior lawyer, the demolitions have resulted in the loss of lives and the displacement of thousands of residents in riverine communities such as Makoko, Oko-Agbon, Sogunro, and Iwaya.

Falana recalled that Lagos State had previously suffered legal setbacks over similar actions, citing a June 2017 judgment of the Lagos State High Court.

In that ruling, Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo declared the forced eviction of more than 30,000 waterfront residents unconstitutional and restrained the state government from carrying out future evictions without proper resettlement arrangements.

He further noted that the courts have since reaffirmed this position in subsequent judgments.

Falana referenced a more recent ruling delivered on August 25, 2025, by Justice F. N. Ogazi of the Federal High Court, which restrained the Lagos State Government and the Nigeria Police Force from engaging in further unlawful demolitions in the affected waterfront settlements.

According to Falana, the actions of the state government also violate a January 7, 2024, judgment of the Supreme Court on the control of navigable waterways.

He explained that the apex court ruled that the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) has exclusive authority over all navigable waters and their rights of way across the country.

Falana argued that, by virtue of that judgment, the Lagos State Government lacks the legal power to regulate, manage, or demolish structures located within those areas.

Calling on Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to respect the rule of law, Falana cited the landmark case of *The Military Governor of Lagos State v. Chief Emeka Ojukwu*.

He noted that even under military rule, the Lagos State Government complied with a Supreme Court order directing it to restore disputed property to its lawful owner.

The human rights lawyer described the persistent disregard for court orders by the state government as a “glaring sabotage of the judicial arm of government.”

He warned that such actions undermine constitutional democracy and weaken public confidence in the justice system, stressing that any urban renewal or development policy must prioritise the constitutional rights, dignity, and resettlement of vulnerable residents, rather than forceful displacement for private commercial interests.

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