Lagos Govt slams Amnesty International over Forced Evication Claim

Nigeria’s most populous state, Lagos, has slammed Amnesty International for claiming that 9,000 residents of a slum in the eponymous capital were forcefully evicted and made to lose their homes or livelihoods.
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Denying the claim, the state government accused the global rights body of interfering in land dispute without knowing the dictates of Nigerian constitution.

State Attorney- General and Commissioner for Justice Ade Ipaye Tuesday chided Amnesty International and said the land in question belongs to the Lagos State Government, contrary to the claims by residents and other human right groups

“Amnesty International cannot determine who owns land in Lagos, Abuja and other states. We all know the main claimant to land in Lagos State under the land Use Act is the governor because he is the residual owner of all lands in the state,” the Commissioner said.

On Monday, Amnesty International and the Social and Economic Rights Action Centre (SERAC) called for an immediate end to mass evictions in the state until safeguards have been put in place to protect people from forced eviction.

They said a new evidence from satellite images has revealed the true extent of a forced eviction in Badia East on the outskirts of the city, and put the number of evictees at 9,000.

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