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From Okey Sampson, Umuahia
An Igbo body, Association of Igbo Town Unions (ASITU) said it had petitioned some world organisations, including the United Nations Human Rights Council, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the ECOWAS Court of Justice over the demolitions being carried out in Lagos by that state government.
Disclosing this while addressing newsmen in Umuahia yesterday, ASITU National President, Chief Emeka Diwe, said the body took the decision not because it does not have faith in Nigerian institutions, but because those institutions had failed to respond adequately to their documented grievances.
“We have made two prior statements, engaged local authorities, and sought dialogue at every level, yet, the demolitions continued. The silence from the Federal Government has been deafening. The indifference from those who should defend constitutional rights has been crushing.
“For months now, we have watched in anguish as properties owned by Igbo businessmen and women in Lagos State have been systematically demolished.
“On February 14, 2025, trading plazas belonging to Igbo businessmen at Ebute Ero Market were demolished by agents of the Lagos State Government.
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“Since September 2025, demolitions have intensified at the Trade Fair Complex in Ojo, where countless Igbo traders conduct their daily commerce.
“Many of the demolished properties had valid approvals issued by the very same Lagos State that later destroyed them. Owners who followed due process, who paid their fees, now stand amid ruins.”
ASITU said while it acknowledged that Lagos State Government has a duty to enforce planning laws and maintain safety standards to prevent building collapse, what it was disputing and rejecting was the selective, discriminatory and often extrajudicial manner in which such demolitions were carried out. ASITU reminded Nigerians that the demolitions in Lagos were not just about buildings, but an assault on the very principles of nation building and national cohesion the founding fathers of the country envisioned.
Diwe said it breaks the heart when it is discovered the demolished properties were built with permits, approvals and certificates issued by the same Lagos State Government.
Diwe dismissed as false claims by the Lagos State Government that the demolished structures blocked drainages. He called on the elected representatives of the people of the South East not to continue to remain unconcerned in the face of the injustice being meted out to their people in Lagos.
ASITU equally called on the International community and foreign investors to pay attention to what is happening in Nigeria with a view to acting accordingly. ASITU appealed to President Bola Tinubu and the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu to do something immediately and stop the demolitions in the interest of peace and unity of the country.
