A wave of outrage has trailed the demolition of the Ibibio Community Centre in Surulere, Lagos, by the Lagos State Government, with the Ibibio community describing the action as “a direct assault on our identity, dignity, and heritage.”

The demolished property, which served for decades as the Lagos Secretariat and Cultural Centre of Mboho Mkparawa Ibibio (MMI), a foremost socio-cultural association of the Ibibio ethnic nationality from Akwa Ibom State, was pulled down by officials of the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), an agency of the Lagos State Government.

According to the association, the property, located at Rufai Close, off Rufai Street, Ojuelegba, and registered under Title No. M07300 at the Lagos State Lands Registry, was legally acquired and has been the community’s symbolic and administrative hub in the South-West for decades.

In a statement signed by the International President of Mboho Mkparawa Ibibio, Akparawa James Edet, the group condemned the demolition as “one of the darkest moments in the history of the Ibibio Nation.”

“The property was acquired through the selfless sacrifices of our forebears. Its destruction is not merely a physical act; it is the demolition of our history, pride, and presence in this city,” the statement read.

MMI alleged that the Lagos State Government ignored ongoing discussions and went ahead with the demolition without any formal agreement or compensation. The group said the government offered a meagre N11 million for the property, whose structure alone was valued at over N250 million more than fifteen years ago.

The group Insists it is not seeking financial compensation but justice and restoration, calling on the Lagos State Government to provide a replacement property of equal or greater value and to recognise the Ibibio community’s right to a cultural and administrative presence in Lagos.

The statement further accused the Lagos authorities of double standards, noting that while other ethnic groups own property and operate freely in Akwa Ibom, the Ibibio community in Lagos faces “discrimination and dispossession.”

Mboho Mkparawa Ibibio has appealed to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to intervene immediately and stop further encroachment on the site, while also urging Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, and “all Nigerians of conscience, justice and goodwill” to rise in solidarity.

The group also called on human-rights advocates, cultural institutions, and the global Ibibio diaspora, spanning the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, South Africa, and across Nigeria; to support their quest for redress.

“Mboho Mkparawa Ibibio shall not be intimidated or broken. Our unity, pride, and heritage remain indestructible,” the statement declared.

As of press time, the Lagos State Government and LAMATA were yet to issue an official response to the outcry. (Nigerian Tribune)