By Ibrahim Salaudeen, Abeokuta
The Lagos State Government on Thursday moved caterpillars and bulldozers into the Trade Fair Complex in Ojo, Ojo Local Government Area of the state and began to demolish marked illegal buildings and unsafe structures in the area.
The demolition which the government claimed was meant to
to restore sanity and enforce physical planning laws of the state in the area threw the traders into despair, anger and confusion.
The government said it is not touching structures within the original trade complex but stressed that new developments springing up around and near the complex without permits from the appropriate ministries and agencies would go down.
The government noted that it could no longer look the other way while unapproved developments continued to distort the environment, block critical infrastructure and endanger public safety.
The Daily Crucible reports that 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.
The Office of Infrastructure, security agencies who ensured safety during the exercise and legislators from the Lagos State House of Assembly were also on ground to while the Thursday exercise lasted.
A Senior Special Assistant on New Media to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Jubril Gawat, in a post shared on X, confirmed the demolition exercise, saying the operation was targeted at “illegal developments, structures without statutory approvals, defective structures, and buildings erected on road setbacks and drainages.
“The Lagos State Government has begun removal of illegal developments, structures without statutory approvals and defective structures, and structures built on road setback and drainages in the Trade Fair Complex, Ojo Local Government area,” Gawat said.
Bulldozers were seen pulling down marked structures, while some traders and shop owners looked on with concern over the impact on their businesses.
The Sanwo-Olu administration has consistently warned residents against erecting buildings without proper approvals or blocking drainage channels, stressing that such violations contribute to flooding, traffic congestion, and urban disorder in Lagos.
The removal of these structures is part of the state’s ongoing efforts to protect infrastructure and safety, as Lagos remains highly congested and illegal developments blocking drainage and roads only compound flooding, traffic gridlock, and urban disorganisation.
However, past exercises have triggered backlash from displaced residents, who claim loss of homes and insufficient notice.
In Oworonshoki, for instance, many said they were not given adequate time to relocate or safeguard their belongings.
PUNCH Online reports that Lagos State had run a government-mandated amnesty programme that allowed owners of unapproved or irregular buildings to regularise their structures without penalty. That window, which had been extended multiple times, recently expired, and enforcement actions have grown in various parts of the state.
As the amnesty ended, LASBCA began active removal of illegal constructions across the city, especially in areas where structures obstruct drainage channels, block road setbacks, or are deemed unsafe or defective.
