Lagos urban renewal drive pushes Makoko’s poorest residents onto the lagoon

Story: written by Zara January 20,2026
Lagos State’s urban renewal programme has left thousands of Makoko waterfront residents displaced, with growing concerns over humanitarian fallout, accountability, and the true scope of the demolition exercise.
What was introduced as a safety operation to clear structures near high-tension power lines has evolved into a sweeping eviction across the historic waterfront community. Residents say assurances given by government officials about limited demolition zones were later ignored, leaving families homeless and livelihoods destroyed.
Many Makoko residents, whose lives revolve around fishing and small-scale trade, say they complied with initial directives to dismantle homes within agreed setback limits. Community leaders coordinated with authorities, marked boundaries, and encouraged cooperation in the belief that the exercise would stop at designated points. Instead, demolitions expanded far beyond those limits.
Eyewitnesses and civil society groups report that the operation was accompanied by the use of tear gas and heavy security presence, triggering panic and forcing residents to flee by canoe. Several deaths have been linked to the chaos surrounding the demolitions, further intensifying criticism of the exercise.
Today, displaced families are living in canoes and makeshift shelters on the lagoon, exposed to harsh weather conditions and without access to basic services. Fishing activities have been disrupted, schools and places of worship destroyed, and household belongings lost to the water. Women who relied on fish smoking and petty trading say they have lost both income and food supplies.
Community organisers allege that residents were misled about the scope of the demolition, describing the agreed setback limits as a cover for a broader plan to clear the entire waterfront. They also report arrests, intimidation, and a breakdown of trust between residents and authorities.
Traditional leaders in Makoko say they negotiated in good faith, urging residents to cooperate to ensure peace. They now say the demolitions have turned them into powerless intermediaries, unable to protect their people or uphold agreements reached with the government.
Rights groups warn that the Makoko demolitions fit a wider pattern of forced evictions across Lagos since 2020, often carried out with little notice and inadequate resettlement plans. They caution that without accountability, compensation, and inclusive urban planning, redevelopment efforts risk deepening poverty and social exclusion.
As bulldozers continue to reshape the Makoko waterfront, residents insist they are not opposed to development, but argue that progress should not come at the cost of lives, homes, and dignity.