Hurricane Sanwo-Olu, the gale of demolition which has unsettled communities and dislodged thousands of residents in Lagos State in the recent months, hit the stretch of power lines at Command, Aminkanle and AIT areas of Alagbado in Agbado-Oke-Odo LCDA last week, leaving a trail of tears, ruins and unquantifiable losses in its wake. Structures numbering over 3000, including residential buildings, religious houses, schools, business outlets, artisans’ workshops among others buildings were levelled to the ground as bulldozers roared and rumbled through the community for more than one week.

The demolition exercise which started on Thursday, November 6, it was gathered, began early this year with the first phase claiming structures under the high tension power lines from Command T- Junction to Atapa Market, a distance of about 400 metres before the exercise was inexplicably halted. The temporary stoppage of the exercise, Sunday Sun reportedly gathered, gave fillip to misinformation and massive fleecing of property owners who were desperate to protect their property. They were said to have been reportedly misled and fleeced by unscrupulous individuals who reportedly promised them to lobby top government officials.

When Sunday Sun correspondent visited the area last week, some of the victims of the demolition were seen attempting to salvage some of their household items from the debris, a development that seems to give credence to the claim that the victims did not adequately prepare for the tragedy.

But while many claimed the demolition took them unawares, an official of the Lagos State Building Control Agency, LASBCA, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said there was no truth about the claim. The source insisted that the people were given ample opportunity to vacate the area but refused to leave.

“If you ask many people around, they will tell you that this exercise actually kicked off months ago around Command T-junction and stopped around a market over there. The purpose of halting the exercise at the time was primarily to enable those to be affected to relocate to safer places,” he stated.

The Lagos State Government had earlier in the year announced plans to remove all structures built under power lines and high-tension electric cables across the state to ensure public safety. A statement by the Director of Public Affairs at the Lagos State Building Control Agency, Adu Ademuyiwa, had at the time maintained that the move was to safeguard lives and property.

The statement partly read: “As part of proactive measures to protect lives and property, the Lagos State Government, through LASBCA, has directed the removal of all illegal structures erected under high-tension and power lines. Property owners have until January 31, 2025, to comply, after which enforcement actions will commence.”

Although many people claimed the government did not give them sufficient time to vacate before moving bulldozers into the area, a resident of the area who Identified himself simply as Mustapha said some individuals deceived the people by promising them to lobby top government officials so that they could be spared. “After the earlier demolition from Command T-Junction some people started mobilising other people to contribute money with which they intend to settle some highly connected government officials to either help them avert or defer the planned demolition. That was what emboldened some of the people who failed to vacate the area until the government moved bulldozers into the area last week,” he said.

As bulldozers began the demolition, many people were seen making last minutes efforts to salvage their belongings. Several others hired service carpenters to help them remove the roofs and rafters of their buildings before the destruction of their property.

Some of the victims blamed their refusal to vacate their houses until they were demolished on poverty and uncertainty about the move. Mr. Olalekan Sogade, who was a tenant in one of the demolished houses at Aminkale said he was deceived by his landlord until bulldozers started moving into the area.

“I moved into the house in April 2024, but sometime in June or July this year, we received a report that the state government would resume the demolition of the buildings under the power lines which was stopped earlier in the year. But when we met the landlord about it, he told us that the landlords in the community were already liaising with the government and that there was no cause for alarm. But when we didn’t hear anything for almost four months I thought everything had died down until last week when they started demolishing the buildings again,” he said.

Others blamed their refusal to leave their houses on their inability to raise money for rent until the government moved bulldozers to the area last week. One of such people, who identified himself as Chigozie, said after the first phase of demolition carried out by the government earlier in the year, he had been making efforts to raise money to rent a new apartment but to no avail.

His words: “I started living in this area in 2022. Of course I am aware that it is dangerous to live under high tension but that was the only place I could find affordable accommodation at the time. However, since the Ministry of Physical Planning began to mark the buildings under the power lines for demolition, I have been making serious efforts to rent another house without any success. In the process my wife became sick, which cost me a lot of money. Her sickness made it somehow difficult for me to be able to gather enough money to get a new accommodation,” Chigozie said.

Unlike what obtains in many parts of the country transverse by power lines, there are two parallel power lines in the affected communities. Sunday Sun gathered that only one of the two power lines existed before people started moving into the area while the second came long after people had settled in the area. Although unconfirmed reports claimed that owners of the houses affected by the second power lines were duly compensated by the government at the time, many of them reportedly failed to yield and continued to live in the area until last week when their houses were demolished.

There is however a curious twist to the demolition exercise. Residents whose houses were demolished earlier in the year at Atapa area of the community are accusing the state government of robbing the poor to enrich the elite in the state. They alleged that the government has re-allocated their land from where they were dislodged earlier in the year to new owners.

A community leader in the area, who craved anonymity, alleged that new structures are already sprouting on the land where a number of houses were pulled down during the first demolition. “The government is hiding under the guise of safeguarding lives and property of the people from danger that living under the power lines poses to evict them from the houses they built with their sweat. But the same land, right under the power lines, now have new buildings springing up on them. Who allocated those lands? Who are the new owners? Definitely not the same people who were evicted from the lands. Can you imagine that level of selfishness and wickedness from people who called themselves our leaders? I will not be surprised if they begin to erect new buildings on the one they are demolishing now,” he declared.

Indeed, this correspondent visited the Command T-Junction to Atapa Market that was demolished earlier in the year and reports that massive construction works are going on in the area.

Meanwhile the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) has described the recent demolition of structures under high-tension power lines as a proactive effort to safeguard lives and property.

According to the agency’s Director of Public Affairs, Adu Ademuyiwa, the exercise aligns with the Lagos State Urban and Regional Planning and Development Law, which prohibits construction in restricted areas such as power line corridors.

He warned that failure to comply with the law would attract enforcement actions, including removal and possible legal sanctions.

“Removing illegal structures is essential to preventing tragedies caused by electrical hazards.

“High-tension power lines carry electricity at extremely high voltages and any building within their clearance zone poses severe risks such as electrocution, power surges, fires and infrastructure damage resulting from safety breaches,” Ademuyiwa explained.

Beyond the safety implications, he noted that unauthorised buildings under power lines disrupt urban planning efforts and undermine environmental sustainability.

Ademuyiwa reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to protecting lives and property, adding that “enforcing this directive is part of a broader vision to create a safer and more resilient Lagos.”

On the issue of relocation of same property to another set of people to build on it, he denied it , saying government didn’t reallocate the property to another set of people. He added that whoever involved in such illegal activities should be ready to face the wrath of the law.

He urged property owners, developers, and residents to adhere to building regulations and voluntarily remove any structures that violate safety standards. (The Sun)

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