Sanwoolu
Elderly residents and widows of the Amikanle community in the Alagbado area of Lagos State say the overnight demolition of shops and houses along the Powerline corridor on Friday, November 7, has crushed their means of livelihood and forced some of them to sleep on the streets.
Women between the ages of 60 and 65 told PUNCH Metro during separate interviews on Tuesday that the loss of their shops, inventories and long-standing family homes had pushed many of them into begging for survival.
Several displaced residents, many of them widowed, described the demolition as “sudden, forceful and carried out under heavy security surveillance.”
Some of the displaced residents who spoke to our correspondent amid tears pointed to injuries they claimed were sustained during the operation.
According to them, government officials stormed the community in the night with six bulldozers and allegedly threatened to arrest anyone who attempted to record the exercise.
“As the demolition was going on, anyone seen filming or showing dissent was thrown into a Black Maria,” a youth in the community identified only as Muiz said.
One of the victims, 63-year-old Olabisi Osho, said she had lived in her one-storey building at No. 44 Powerline Phase 2 for 28 years before it was torn down at midnight.
“We were initially told our buildings were not among those marked for demolition. But they suddenly came that night with policemen and started pulling down houses, including mine. Anyone who tried to make a video was arrested.”
Osho said she injured her head while fleeing the rubble and now sleeps in a trailer with her belongings.
“I can’t afford rent now. What is painful is that we are hearing they have started selling the land already,” she added.
Another resident, 64-year-old Oni Elizabeth, said her family had now suffered displacement twice due to government demolitions.
“They woke us up in the night to start packing our things. My husband’s first house at No. 36 Church Street, Agbelekale, was demolished years ago. Now, the second house we moved to at Awonisi, AIT Road, has also been demolished. I have no home again.”
Similarly, 66-year-old widow, Aina Adejare, who lost her late husband’s house, said, “We have lived here for over 30 years. I am helpless now and have nowhere to go. I just want the government to help me.”
Shop owners in the community told our correspondent that the loss of business had deepened their hardship.
Punch
