Barely days after the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja issued an injunction restraining further demolitions in Oworonsoki, bulldozers have once again returned to Ojileru Street, Ososa Extension, and Toluwalase Street, flattening more buildings in defiance of the subsisting order.
The demolition, which began at dawn, sent waves of panic and grief across the affected communities under the Itesiwaju Ajumoni Community Development Area (CDA). Residents, many of whom were still nursing hopes that the court’s directive would protect their homes, watched helplessly as excavators reduced concrete structures to rubble.
Elderly persons, women, and children could be seen weeping as they struggled to salvage what was left of their belongings from the debris. Witnesses described the scene as heartbreaking with some residents collapsing from exhaustion and shock as bulldozers tore through long-standing family properties.
“We don’t understand why this is happening,” lamented an aged landlord, Mr. Taju, his voice trembling. “The court said no more demolition until the next hearing in December. Yet, they came with police escorts and heavy machines, destroying everything. Where do they expect us to sleep tonight?”
For many families, the demolition was more than a loss of shelter, it was the destruction of decades of sweat, memory, and heritage. Mrs. Adenike, a pregnant woman who narrowly escaped being trapped in her home, narrated how she was awakened by the sound of collapsing walls. “We ran out barefoot. My children were crying. Everything we worked for is gone,” she said tearfully.
Only last week, Justice A.G. Balogun of the Lagos High Court had issued an interim order restraining further demolition of properties in the affected areas pending compliance with pre-action protocols. The order, which stemmed from a suit involving about 30 hectares of land, specifically directed that no party should alter the state of the disputed properties until the matter is heard again on December 9, 2025.
The residents, under the Itesiwaju Ajumoni CDA, had also publicly denied claims of receiving compensation or participating in any enumeration process. They insisted that no official communication or relocation plan was presented before the sudden demolition.
Community leaders have condemned the latest action, calling it a brazen disregard for the rule of law and a gross violation of citizens’ rights. “This is injustice at its peak,” said one of the CDA executives. “We have an injunction from a competent court. For anyone to ignore that and continue demolition is contempt of court.”
The affected residents are appealing to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the Lagos State Ministry of Justice to intervene and enforce the court’s directive. They have vowed to continue pursuing legal redress, describing the demolition as unlawful and inhumane.
As night falls on Oworonsoki, the once-bustling community now lies in ruins. Amid the broken walls and scattered possessions, the cries of displaced residents echo through the evening, a haunting reminder of a community caught between development and devastation.
As at the time of filing this report, more than seventy concrete buildings were said to have been pulled down.