The Lagos State Government has begun the controlled removal of shanties and other unauthorised structures built beneath high-tension electricity lines in Ikola, Agbado Oke-Odo Local Council Development Area.
The intervention followed a deadly communal clash in the area in which four adult males were killed, while several others sustained injuries.
The operation is being led by the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), working alongside the Lagos State Police Command and the Rapid Response Squad (RRS).
LASEMA said the exercise was necessary because the structures were located within the statutory right-of-way of high-voltage transmission lines, creating serious risks for people living and trading in the area.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the agency’s Permanent Secretary, Dr Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, said the recent violence between members of the Hausa and Yoruba communities had drawn attention to wider security and environmental problems in Ikola.
He said the unrest had also highlighted the ‘grave danger’ created by the extensive informal settlements situated directly beneath the electricity lines.
According to him, the settlements violated national and international safety standards and left residents vulnerable to electrocution, fires and possible structural collapse.
Following the clash, relevant government agencies were deployed to the community to restore safety and protect lives and property.
Oke-Osanyintolu said LASEMA, supported by police and RRS personnel, subsequently commenced a coordinated intervention after residents affected by the exercise were given sufficient time to leave the area and remove their belongings.
‘The operation was preceded by adequate notice to affected residents. Communities were granted ample time to safely evacuate and recover personal belongings before the commencement of any demolition activity,’ the statement read.
He said the process reflected the state’s policy of enforcing planning and safety regulations while taking into consideration the welfare of residents affected by such actions.
Heavy recovery equipment has been deployed by LASEMA to dismantle and clear structures located within the designated power-line corridor.
‘All officers and personnel involved in the operation are safe, and the situation remains calm and under control,’ the government said.
The Permanent Secretary also dismissed any suggestion that the exercise was directed against a particular ethnic group or community.
He said the government was responding to a hazardous situation that affected everyone living within the power-line corridor.
‘This intervention is therefore not targeted at any ethnic group or community, but at a dangerous structural reality that threatens everyone living in its path,’ he said.
While acknowledging residents’ need for shelter and livelihoods, the government said those concerns must be weighed against the obligation to prevent deaths and other avoidable disasters.
Oke-Osanyintolu stressed that development could not be regarded as sustainable when it exposed residents to preventable dangers.
The demolition exercise comes two days after the deadly violence in Ikola.