Safety of Buildings Versus Claims of Vengeance: Exploring Issues around the Alaba Market Demolitions

On Sunday, February 18, 2023, videos were circulating about the commencement of demolitions in Alaba International Market, Ojo Local Government Area of Lagos. Traders affected by the demolition were giving distress calls and lamenting that they only got a notice of market demolition the previous Friday. However, the Lagos State authorities suggest that the traders were duly informed and, indeed, they had been served notices every year since 2016. The traders were said to have resisted previous efforts to demolish the buildings. The official Lagos position further adds that the rationale for marking the buildings for demolition is due to lack of structural integrity which constituted a menace to lives. According to a report, some structures were tilted, and others were sinking.

Thus, this edition of Nextier SPD Policy Weekly interrogates the safety grounds of demolition by the Lagos state government and the vengeance claims of the affected traders with a view to making suggestions on the pathway to peaceful coexistence.

Click here to download report.