Victims of Ogun shanties demolition decry insecurity

Residents and shop owners in Kara on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway have expressed fears that the rate of insecurity on the expressway may increase on the heels of the recent demolition of the shanties and makeshift structures in the area by the Ogun State Government demolished.

Our correspondent who visited the area on Thursday observed how the area was littered with broken building materials and gradually turning into an eyesore for commuters and residents.

Some who spoke with PUNCH Metro claimed that they did not receive any warning notice from the government and that they recently paid N12,000 for the buildings and shops to state government agents.

They also claimed that the rate of insecurity within reduced because the hoodlums in the area had a place to live prior to the demolition.

PUNCH Metro had reported that the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Environment, Farook Akintunde, stated that the exercise was conducted following the expiration of the 21-day ultimatum previously issued to the street vendors to vacate the area.

A shop owner, Funmi, lamented that some individuals had been rendered homeless as a result of the demolition.

She said, “I packed my loads away from there before they demolished the shops. There were so many shops that were damaged and some of them had nowhere to go. Some of them kept pleading with the government to just allow them to pack their belongings but they refused. The main people rendered homeless are the Hausa people but a majority of the Yoruba’s shops were also destroyed,” she concluded.

The Baale of River Valley in Berger, identified as Baba Esan, said the demolition effect could lead to an increase in robbery and insecurity along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway as was witnessed previously.

He said, “There were never homes here; the houses some people built can be considered as illegal. The government did not do so well because they just destroyed the place without considering the people who were staying there.

“One negative impact of displacing the people and shop owners is that the rate of insecurity will increase. Some people stay beside the bridge by 8pm instead of them roaming the street and committing all manner of crime. All those thieves are bound to return back to the expressway.

“In the next two months, the expressway might become something else. In the next three months, all these places will turn into bushes and the government will just keep lying that they cleared the demolished areas with millions of naira. We do not have a good government in Nigeria,” he said.

Another trader, simply called Olayemi, said, “We recently paid ‘permit’ to the government agents but they still demolished all these places. Traders here pay at least N12,000 in a year just to secure their goods.”

When contacted, the Press Officer, Ministry of Environment, Rotimi Oduniyi, said the state government would clean the entire area so that people could feel relaxed adding that the demolition would reduce the insecurity in those areas.

Oduniyi said, “Those buildings are constructed illegally. The government is not being wicked to them.  Those places are not markets and shanties. No serious government will overlook the mess they created. It is about them going to a proper place instead of turning those places into toilets. The fact that they are there also posed a security challenge to the residents in that area. The state government will clean the entire area so that people can feel relaxed when passing those areas,” he concluded.