KEY POINTS
- Lagos demolished 19 Trade Fair Plaza buildings under heavy security.
- Traders said no notices were served before bulldozers arrived.
- State government defended demolition as targeting illegal and unsafe structures.
The Lagos State Government demolished 19 buildings inside the New Mandela Plaza at Lagos’ bustling Trade Fair Complex on Thursday.
Heavily armed security units surrounded the market as bulldozers tore through the structures, leaving shop owners in shock and sparking disputes over whether the exercise followed due process.
Traders question demolition at Trade Fair
Traders said the demolition came without warning. Police task force trucks and Rapid Response Squad convoys blocked entrances to the plaza, dispersing crowds that tried to record the operation. By midday, several targeted buildings had already been reduced to rubble, with owners arriving to find shops and warehouses flattened.
“We don’t even know the reason for the demolition,” said one trader who stood watching the chaos. Others speculated that the buildings were marked for being too close to a canal, but many insisted that no clear explanation was given.
Among them was Chief Magnus Ike, CEO of Magnus Merchandise, who said his multi-billion-naira property had federal approval. “I have not been served any notice from Lagos State Government. The only notices we receive come from the Federal Government, and we comply. Even the Ministry of Environment inspected this place,” he said. “You don’t let people borrow from banks, build over years, and crush their investments overnight.”
Government cites illegal structures and safety
The Lagos State Government defended the demolition, saying the exercise targeted “illegal developments, structures without statutory approvals, defective buildings, and properties blocking drainages and setbacks.” Jubril Gawat, Senior Special Assistant on New Media to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, posted on X that authorities could no longer ignore unsafe or unlawful construction.
Accoridng to Punch, the operation involved the Ministry of Physical Planning, the Lagos State Building Control Agency, the Urban Renewal Agency, and the Planning Permit Authority. Security operatives provided backup as property owners pleaded with officials.
The state government paused the demolition later in the day and ordered builders to stop work until discussions concluded. Market leaders met officials and agreed to continue talks next week, but many traders said the demolition had already caused damage.
Some shop owners stood defiantly amid the rubble, vowing to rebuild despite mounting debt and uncertainty. “Lagos is for all of us. Demolition or not, we go nowhere,” one said.
