There has been outcry by affected residents as the government undertakes what it called a move to restore sanity.
The Lagos State government had pointed out that the affected structures were being demolished because they contravened the state’s laws.
Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources in the state, Tokunbo Wahab, had said more properties would be pulled down for contravening the drainage law.
Structures in areas like Lekki, Alaba Market, Ajao Estate, Abule Egba, Ladipo Market, among others have been pulled down.
Some affected residents in video clips online had accused the Lagos State government of not giving them enough time before pulling down the structures.
In a clip, an affected resident, who claimed to have paid N1.7 million for a property located in Mainland, Lagos State, said authorities only gave them two hours to move out of the property before demolition.
But, the state Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, said the government would not be selective in applying the law in the ongoing series of demolition of illegal structures at Lekki Phase II and environs.
Wahab assured that the state government was committed to ensuring that justice and fairness were served to all equally.
He also insisted that an ultimatum was issued to owners of structures who violated the state’s laws.
According to him, a seven-day contravention notice is issued to owners of buildings “lying within the seven metres drainage setback on Orchid Rd, Agungi, Ajiran, Conservation Road, Osapa, Oral Estate II, all along the Ikota River” due to drainage problems.
On the demolition in Alaba International Market, the Lagos State Building Control Agency, LASBCA, General Manager, Gbolahan Oki, said the affected buildings had been marked for demolition since 2016.
“The marked inscriptions from LASBCA seen on different parts of the buildings that were looking physically distressed had vacation notices as far back as 2016, 2020, 2022, and several others issued to this year, 2023,” Oki said.
The government has also challenged the claimants to come up with any document showing that their structures received requisite approvals before they embarked on construction.
