August 12, 2013
SERAC and Amnesty International publish joint report condemning forced evictions in Lagos; SERAC calls for reparations and a better way forward in Badia East
The Social and Economic Rights Action Center (SERAC) and Amnesty International have published a joint report on the February 23, 2013 mass forced eviction of at least 9,000 persons from the Oke-Ilu-Eri and Ajeromi villages of Badia East, Lagos. Building on SERAC’s longstanding engagement with the affected community, the report marshals evidence given by victims, Lagos State Government officials, and other witnesses.
Beyond documenting the devastation of thousands of lives, the report analyzes Lagos State Government’s systematic non-compliance with domestic and international law that requires procedural safeguards for any eviction. The Government has also ignored its obligation to follow World Bank resettlement policies, jeopardizing the continuation of the $200-milliion Bank-funded Lagos State Metropolitan Development and Governance Project (LMDGP).
Since the demolition, SERAC has worked with the affected community to try to prevent further mass human rights violations, advocate for reparations and to seek a better way forward for Badia East. Nearly six months later, the Lagos State Government has yet to genuinely consult with community, to provide compensation, resettlement or any emergency relief for the thousands who were left homeless and destitute after the forced eviction.
Sadly, the Ministry of Housing project planned for the demolished area does not respond to these concerns. What little information has been made public about the project reveals that it will only exacerbate Lagos’s massive housing shortage. In an area that was previously home to nearly 2,000 households, the project will include only 266 housing units. The price tag on these units will be beyond the reach of the vast majority of affected persons from Badia East.
The affected community, in partnership with SERAC and other supporters, thus continues to call for Government to return them to the land from which they were forcibly evicted, to rebuild their homes and businesses, and to provide compensation, relief and reparations.
In light of the Government’s repeated threat to demolish the remainder of Badia East, the community has also organized a participatory enumeration and mapping exercise, laying the groundwork for development of a holistic, community-led in situ upgrading proposal as an alternative to further evictions. The hope is for Government to hear the many voices calling for it to find a better way of working with communities for people-centered development.
Click here to read the report.
Source: SERAC and Amnesty International, by e-mail.
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