No fewer than 19 buildings were demolished Thursday at the New Mandela Plaza, within the popular Trade Fair Complex in Lagos, as the Lagos State Government moved in under heavy security to enforce the exercise.
Convoys of trucks from the Lagos State Task Force, Rapid Response Squad, and other tactical teams surrounded the plaza. Stern-looking officers restricted access to the premises and dispersed traders who tried to record the operation.
As at the time of filing this report, several targeted buildings had already been reduced to rubble, sparking outrage among shop owners, many of whom insisted they were not given prior notice.
One trader, speaking reluctantly, said: “We don’t even know the reason for the demolition. That’s why you see people moving up and down, asking questions.” Another speculated that the affected structures might have been marked for being too close to a canal.
A visibly agitated plaza owner, who arrived as his shop was being pulled down, shouted from his car that no notice was served before the bulldozers moved in. Several sales representatives also lamented that their bosses’ goods, still locked inside shops, were destroyed along with the buildings.
Distraught traders told Vanguard that no fewer than 19 buildings, each valued at over N150 million, were affected. One trader fumed: “If government doesn’t want companies or development here, they should just come out and say it. People have invested their life savings here. Over 19 buildings are in that plaza.”
Amid the traders’ outrage, the Lagos State Government maintained its position.
Senior Special Assistant on New Media to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Jubril Gawat, confirmed the exercise in a post on X, stating that the demolition targeted “illegal developments, structures without statutory approvals, defective structures, and buildings erected on road setbacks and drainages.
“The Lagos State Government can no longer fold its arms while unapproved developments block critical infrastructure and endanger lives,” he said.
The operation was jointly carried out by the Ministry of Physical Planning, Lagos State Building Control Agency, Lagos State Urban Renewal Agency, and the Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority, with security operatives providing backup.
The state government later ordered a halt to the demolition, while ongoing constructions were directed to stop.
Leaders of the market subsequently met with state officials, where both parties agreed to reconvene on Tuesday next week.