No fewer than 19 buildings were demolished yesterday at the New Mandela Plaza within the popular Trade Fair Complex, Lagos, as the Lagos State Government moved in with heavy security to enforce the exercise.
The operation was carried out under tight surveillance, with convoys of trucks from the Lagos State Task Force, Rapid Response Squad, and other tactical units stationed around the plaza. Stern-looking officers restricted access to the premises and dispersed traders who attempted to film the demolition. By press time, several targeted structures had already been reduced to rubble, sparking outrage among shop owners, many of whom insisted they were not given prior notice.
A trader, speaking hesitantly, said:
“We don’t even know the reason for the demolition. That’s why you see people moving around, asking questions.”
Another speculated that the affected buildings might have been marked for being too close to a canal.
One plaza owner, who arrived to see his shop pulled down, shouted from his car that no notice had been served before bulldozers rolled in. Sales representatives also lamented that their bosses’ goods, still locked inside the shops, were destroyed alongside the buildings.
Distraught traders told Vanguard that at least 19 buildings—each valued at over ₦150 million—were affected.
One fumed:
“If government doesn’t want businesses here, they should just come out and say it. People have invested their life savings. Over 19 buildings are gone.”
Chief Magnus Ike, CEO of Magnus Merchandise, whose multi-billion-naira property was flattened, insisted he had federal approval for the structure:
“Honestly, I have not been served any notice from the Lagos State Government whatsoever. The only notices we get here are from the Federal Government, and we comply. This building was inspected; even the Ministry of Environment has been here. If there is a problem, the proper thing is to notify us. You don’t let people borrow bank loans and then crush their investment overnight.”
Dismissing claims that his property was built on a canal, he gestured around the ruins:
“Look for yourself, there is no canal here. Whatever their reason, due process demands notice. None was given.”
Standing defiantly amid the wreckage, he vowed:
“Demolition or not, I will continue to build. Lagos is for all of us—we go nowhere.”
His younger brother, Mr. Magnus Ikenna, was equally distraught:
“Even as of Wednesday, there was no sign of demolition. This morning, they just moved in with bulldozers and started tear-gassing everybody. They said we don’t have state approval, but since 2000 we’ve always dealt with the Federal Government here. How can the rules suddenly change overnight?”
