Lagos demolitions:Nigeria dying slowly from cancer of ethnic discrimination, selective justice – Igbo town unions

 

Lagos demolitions:Nigeria dying slowly from cancer of ethnic discrimination, selective justice – Igbo town unions

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By Steve Oko

Piqued by the senseless and provocative demolition of shops and property of Igbo traders and investors in Lagos, the Association of Igbo Town Unions, ASITU, has said that “Nigeria is dying slowly from cancer of ethnic discrimination, selective justice”.

ASITU which stated this during a world press conference in Umuahia, Abia State capital, said it had formally petitioned the United Nations Human Rights Council; the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the ECOWAS Court of Justice”, over the ugly trend.

National President of ASITU who read from a prepared text,  expressed fury over the action of the Lagos State Government, and “the deafening silence” of the Federal Government.

Wawa News Global reports that members of the executive of  Town Union executives from different Communities in Igbo land we’re

“We have done this not because we lack faith in Nigerian institutions, but because those institutions have failed to respond adequately to our documented grievances”, he explained.

ASITU said that its efforts to engage the relevant authorities for their intervention were frustrated, hence its decision to seek redress at the international stage

“We have made two prior statements, engaged local authorities, and sought dialogue at every level. Yet the demolitions continue. The silence from federal authorities has been deafening. The indifference from those who should defend constitutional rights has been crushing.”

Dismissing claims by the Lagos State Government that the demolished structures were erected on waterways, ASITU said the action drives away both local and foreign investors.

“These demolitions inflame ethnic tensions at a time when Nigeria needs unity more than ever.

“They send a message to investors, both domestic and foreign, that property rights in Nigeria are not secure; that approvals can be arbitrarily revoked; that ethnic stentity may influence government action.

“No serious investor will commit capital in such an environment. The economic consequences of this injustice extend far beyond the demolished buildings.

“They affect investor confidence, economic growth, job creation, and Nigeria’s reputation as a place where business can be conducted under the rule of law.”

According to ASITU, investigations revealed that the acquisition of land for the demolished structures followed due process contrary to Government claims.

“We have documented case after case where Igbo property owners followed every legal requirement, only to have their properties demolished while similar structures owned by others remain untouched.

“We have recorded instances where notices of demolition were served so close to the actual demolition date that no meaningful legal response was possible.

“We have witnessed situations where property owners who attempted to present their documentation were turned away or ignored.

“We have seen the pain in the eyes of elderly traders who have lost everything they worked for over decades. This pain is real. This injustice is documented. And it can no longer be ignored.”

ASITU argued that while it acknowledged that Lagos State Government had a duty to enforce planning laws, maintain safety standards, and prevent building collapses, it would, however, not tolerate deliberate targeting of Igbo property for demolition.

“We do not dispute the government’s right to ensure orderly urban development. What we dispute, and what we categorically reject, is the selective, discriminatory, and often extrajudicial manner in which these demolitions have been carried out.

“Many of the demolished properties had valid approvals issued by the very same Lagos State Government that later destroyed them. Owners who followed due process, who paid their fees. who waited for stamps and signatures, now stand amid ruins, asking one simple question: “Why?”

“Where notices were given, they were often too brief for meaningful legal response. Where documentation was presented, it was dismissed or ignored. Where owners attempted to regularize perceived deficiencies, they were met with bulldozers instead of bureaucrats.

” This is not law enforcement, this is the erasure of livelihoods the destruction of legitimacy, the violation of constitutional guarantees that should protect every Nigerian regardless of ethnicity.”

“These are not abandoned structures or overnight shanties. These are life investments: plazas where mothers sell to feed their children, warehouses where young men store goods for their families, shops where dreams of prosperity are nurtured with sweat and prayer.

“On February 14, 2025, trading plazas belonging to Igbo businessmen at Ebute Ero Market were demolished by agents of the Lagos State Government. Since September 2025, demolitions have intensified at the Trade Fair Complex in Ojo, where countless Igbo traders conduct their daily commerce. These demolitions continue to this day.”

ASITU said it had established “a Property Rights Violation Desk that will serve as a comprehensive documentation and legal response center to collect and collate verified data on every case of demolition affecting Igbo property owners in Lagos, names, addresses, dates, documentation, approvals, notices given or not given, compensation offered or denied.”

The association also promised to provide legal representation for affected persons.

“We will analyze patterns of enforcement and mobilize in defense of Igbo property rights. We will prepare cases for Nigerian courts and, where necessary, for international tribunals”, ASITU boss vowed.

The association, therefore, urged all affected property owners “to come forward for documentation and assistance.

” Do not suffer in silence. Do not accept injustice as fate. Bring your documents, your approvals, your receipts, your photographs, your witnesses. Let us build an undeniable record of what has happened here.

“Let us create a case so comprehensive, so well- documented, so legally sound that it cannot be dismissed or ignored. Your individual pah will become our collective strength Your losses will be documented as evidence of a pattem that demands remedy and reform.”

ASITU said the targeted demolition of Igbo property in Lagos, “are an assault on the very principles of nation-building and national cohesion that our founding fathers envisioned.”

“How do we build one Nigeria when citizens are afraid to invest outside their ethnic homelands? How do we preach unity when investment in another state becomes a liability rather than an asset?

” How do we achieve economic development when productive enterprise is destroyed without due process?

“These demolitions send a chilling message to every entrepreneur in Nigeria: your legal documents mean nothing; your approvals can be revoked arbitrarily; your investments are not secure; your ethnicity may determine your fate.”

ASITU regretted that despite the efforts of the Igbo to promote unity of the Nigerian state, the country had continued to reject and discriminate against the Igbo.

“We are the adhesive that binds this nation together. While others may see Nigeria as a collection of regions, we see it as one country, one economy, one shared destiny. That is why we do not cluster only in Igboland.

“That is why we spread across every state, building, investing, employing, and integrating. We marry your daughters and give you our sons. We speak your languages and respect your customs.

“We celebrate Nigeria’s diversity because we live it every single City. No other ethnic group in Nigeria has so thoroughly embraced the idea of a unified Nigerian state through their actions, their investments, and their presence everywhere.

“Yet, we are consistently made to feel unwelcome. We are told we are too ambitious, too industrious, too enterprising.

“Our success is resented rather than celebrated. Our properties become targets. Our investments become liabilities. And when we cry out, we are told we are troublemakers, that we are ungrateful, that we should “go back to where we came from”, as if Lagos, as if any part of Nigeria, is not ours too. As if the Constitution does not guarantee every Nigerian the right to reside and own property in any part of the Federation. ”

ASITU explained that the renewed agitation for Biafra, was fuelled by entrenched discrimination against the Igbo nation.

“The painful truth that haunts our collective consciousness is that when an Igbo man calls himself a Biafran today, it is not because he wakes up dreaming of secession. It is because he goes to sleep feeling rejected.

“It is because he has been made to feel that Nigeria does not want him, that despite his contributions, despite his sacrifices, despite his unwavering belief in one Nigeria, he is still considered an outsider.

“The Biafran identity that you hear in some Igbo voices today is not a threat to Nigeria, it is a cry of pain from Nigerians who feel marginalized, who feel excluded, who feel that their citizenship is conditional, even worthless.

“Biafra is a phenomenon. To the extent an Igbo man feels the marginalization, to that extent he is a Biafran.

“Let the world understand this: The Igbo man sees himself as Biafran to the extent that he feels unwelcome in Nigeria, not because he inherently desires separation. He retreats into ethnic identity when national identity is denied to him.

“He speaks of Biafra when Nigeria speaks to him in the language of demolitions, marginalization, and exclusion. If Nigeria would embrace her Igbo children fully, if Nigeria would protect their constitutional rights, if Nigeria would celebrate their industry rather than punish it, you would find no more patriotic Nigerians than the Igbo people.”

ASITU called on the Igbo political elite, to jettison their political party affiliations and unite in the defence of Igbo interest, reminding them that they will be judged by history.

“To the Igbo senators and representatives in the National Assembly, we say this with all the urgency in our hearts you were not sent to Abuja to be spectators. You were not elected to watch your people suffer in silence.

“You took an oath to defend the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. That Constitution guarantees property rights, equal protection, due process, and freedom from discrimination Where these rights are violated, as they are being violated now, you must act. Convene hearings. Summon Lagos State officials. Invite affected property owners to testify. Make it impossible for this matter to be swept under the carpet of political expediency. ”

ASITU sought the urgent intervention of President Ahmed Tinubu, saying the demolitions “undermine the rule of law that his administration has sworn to uphold.”

“They threaten the economic confidence that Nigeria desperately needs to attract investment. They damage Nigeria’s reputation internationally as a country where property rights are not respected and ethnic discrimination is tolerated.

The association urged Tinubu to “issue clear directives to all state governments reminding them of constitutional limits on demolition powers, insisting on due process, transparency, and non-discrimination.”

ASITU also urged the Government of Lagos State and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, “to suspend these demolitions immediately.”

ASITU challenged the Governor to conduct “a comprehensive, transparent review of every property demolished or marked for demolition; publish the list of affected properties, the notices served, the approvals on record, the criteria used for enforcement.”

” Where mistakes have been made, where properties with valid approvals were demolished, acknowledge those mistakes and provide full, fair, and prompt compensation. Where documentation is incomplete through no fault of the property owner, allow reasonable regularization processes instead of demolition.”

ASITU argued that Ndigbo contribute heavily to Lagos economy and do not deserve any form of maltreatment.

“Igbo traders and businessmen are a major part of what makes Lagos prosperous. Their enterprise creates jobs, jobs for Yorubas, jobs for other Nigerians, jobs for everyone. Their taxes contribute to Lagos State revenue. Their investments add to Lagos’s economic dynamism.”

“These demolitions inflame ethnic tensions at a time when Nigeria needs unity more than ever.

“They send a message to investors, both domestic and foreign, that property rights in Nigeria are not secure; that approvals can be arbitrarily revoked; that ethnic stentity may influence government action.

“No serious investor will commit capital in such an environment. The economic consequences of this injustice extend far beyond the demolished buildings.

“They affect investor confidence, economic growth, job creation, and Nigeria’s reputation as a place where business can be conducted under the rule of law.”

ASITU urged other Nigerians not to stand aloof but rise against the injustice against Ndigbo in Lagos.

“To our brothers and sisters across Nigeria who are not Igbo, we want you to imagine for a moment that this was happening to you. Imagine that you built a business in another state with all proper approvals, and one day bulldozers arrived to destroy everything you had worked for.

“Imagine that when you looked around, most of the demolished properties belonged to people of your ethnicity, while similar structures owned by others remained standing. Imagine that you tried to seek justice but found doors closed, sympathies cold, and authorities indifferent.

” Would you not cry out? Would you not demand justice? Would you not question whether you were truly a full citizen of your country?

“This is not an Igbo problem, this is a Nigerian problem. Today it is Igbo properties in Lagos. Tomorrow it could be Yoruba properties in Kano, Hausa properties in Calabar, or any Nigerian’s property anywhere.

“If we allow the principle to stand that government can arbitrarily destroy legally approved property, that ethnic discrimination in enforcement is acceptable, that constitutional rights can be violated with impunity.

” Every Nigerian who values justice, who believes in the rule of law, who wants a Nigeria where “No man is oppressed; where citizenship means something, should be concerned about what is happening in Lagos today. ”

Clarifying that Ndigbo have no quarels with the Yoruba nation, ASITU said bad governance was the issue.

“Our quarrel is not with the Yoruba people. Our quarrel is with unjust government policy, with discriminatory enforcement, with violation of constitutional rights. We call on progressive Yoruba leaders to join us in demanding justice, not because we are Igbo, but because this is wrong”.

According to ASITU, “Nigeria is dying slowly from the cancer of ethnic discrimination, selective justice. constitutional violations, and the erosion of trust between citizens and government.”

” These demolitions are symptoms of that deeper disease. If we do not address the root causes, if we do not insist on equal citizenship, rule of law, due process, and respect for constitutional rights, Nigeria will continue to fracture. The center will not hold. And we will all lose the Nigerian dream that our independence generation envisioned. ”

ASITU urged the international community to prevail on Nigeria to stop every discriminatory treatment against the Igbo.

“Nigeria claims to be Africa’s largest economy and a democratic nation governed by the rule of law. These claims ring hollow when legitimate property can be demolished without due process; when ethnic discrimination appears to guide government enforcement; when constitutional protections are ignored.”

“The international community has leverage, through trade, through investment, through diplomatic pressure. Use that leverage to insist that Nigeria live up to its constitutional commitments and its international human rights obligations.”

ASITU, however, appealed to the owners of the affected property to remain peaceful and law abiding.

The association also urged to refuse to be broken by the emotional pains but to keep hope alive

It stressed the need for Ndigbo to bring parts of their investments home for safe economic base.

“To the Igbo business community, do not be discouraged. Do not abandon your legitimate enterprises. Do not allow these injustices to break your entrepreneurial spint that has made the Igbo people renowned throughout Africa and beyond.

“But also, embrace with renewed vigor the philosophy of Aku Ruo Ulo: let wealth return home. Invest in Igboland.

“Build in Igboland. Develop industries in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo states. Make our homeland an economic powerhouse so strong, so prosperous, so industrialized that it becomes a foundation of strength from which we engage Nigeria and the world on terms of confidence, not vulnerability.”

“Aku Ruo Ulo is not about retreat or secession; it is about building from a position of strength. It is about ensuring that while we continue to invest across Nigeria, we have a home base that is economically vibrant, that cannot be threatened, that gives us dignity and security.

“It is about making Igboland so attractive for investment that people from all over Nigeria will want to come, invest, and build there, just as we have done in Lagos and everywhere else. That is true nation building: mutual investment, mutual respect, mutual prosperity. ”

The ASITU President who noted that Nnamdi Kanu’s continued persecution was as a result of his insistence on the truth, said himself could also become a target but vowed not to cow in.

” It is possible that my family may not see me again after this press conference just for saying the truth But No regret. No apologies.”