Angry residents protest against Ambode a year after eviction

Residents of Otodo-Gbame community who were forcefully evicted from their waterfront settlements earlier this year have staged a protest against the Lagos State government on Wednesday, November 15, 2017.

The protesters gathered at the Moshood Abiola Gardens, Ojota, Lagos around 10am demanding justice over the government's continued refusal to honour a court judgement that ruled in their favour.

According to a report by Premium Times, the protesters marched down to the State Government House in Alausa to make their grievances known.

They complained that a year after the first phase of evictions that eventually resulted in the ejection of over 30,000 settlers, the government is yet to provide a resettlement plan.

Otodo-Gbame eviction

The Otodo Gbame community was a slum of shanties occupied by peasants, mat-weaving fishermen and divers.

Thousands of residents were rendered homeless when the poor fishing community was set on fire then bulldozed on March 17, 2017, with many of them getting chased into the lagoon on boats.

At least three people died during the forceful eviction process enforced by armed police that came in helicopters, gunboats and police trucks.

Lagos authorities denied the accusations, saying a fight between different groups in the community caused the fire.

ALSO READ: 'Ambode killed members of our community,' Otodo-Gbame residents mourn

A day before the March evictions, a High Court had barred the state government from bringing down all illegal waterfront communities like the Governor had threatened to do.

Otodo-Gbame eviction unconstitutional

Justice Surajudeen Onigbanjo of Lagos State High Court, Igbosere, ruled in favour of the residents of Otodo-Gbame in a court verdict handed down on June 21, 2017.

He ruled the evictions as unconstitutional, saying it violates the rights of the residents, especially as it happened without consultation or a resettlement plan in place.

He also ordered the state government to start consultations with the evicted residents and devise a resettlement plan.

The court case against Governor Akinwunmi Ambode and other Lagos officials was filed by Justice and Empowerment Initiatives (JEI), a Lagos-based human rights organization, and dozens of waterfront communities in the state.