In Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city, families who have lived on waterfront land for generations are resisting a wave of demolitions that residents say is clearing the way for luxury housing and beach developments.
Communities along the lagoon and the Atlantic coast describe homes being cleared by bulldozers, in some cases despite court injunctions that residents had obtained in an attempt to halt the evictions.
The demolitions are the latest chapter in a long-running pattern along the city’s shoreline, where tens of thousands of people in low-income coastal settlements have been displaced in recent years as Lagos expands.
Residents and rights advocates say cleared land has often been followed by upmarket housing, private beach clubs and other high-value projects, in a city where waterfront property commands premium prices.
Lagos, home to more than 20 million people, faces acute pressure on land and housing. State authorities have generally framed coastal clearances as necessary for security, planning or environmental reasons.
Affected communities have turned to the courts, protests and civil-society groups to challenge the evictions, arguing that residents are given little notice, no adequate compensation and nowhere to relocate.
Housing campaigners say the disputes highlight a wider tension in fast-growing African megacities, where waterfront land sought for prestige projects is also home to some of the poorest urban residents.