Hundreds of Ilaje residents on Tuesday stormed the Lagos State House of Assembly in Ikeja, protesting the demolition of their ancestral homes and accusing some traditional rulers of masterminding the destruction under the guise of presidential authority.
Defying heavy rainfall, the protesters—under the banner of Egbe Omo Ilaje—carried placards and demanded urgent intervention from Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and Speaker Mudashiru Obasa.
They alleged that certain monarchs were acting as “land grabbers” while invoking President Bola Tinubu’s name to justify forced evictions.
Elderly protester Ifagbemi warned that Ilaje women were prepared to stage a nude demonstration at the palaces of implicated monarchs if government failed to halt the demolitions.
“We are the original settlers of Lagos. We want peace, and we want justice,” she declared.
Rafael Irowainu, President-General of Egbe Omo Ilaje Worldwide, accused some of the monarchs of being non-indigenes from Osun and Ekiti states, adding that their actions amounted to fraud and lawlessness.
“These demolitions without court orders will only worsen insecurity and homelessness,” he said, calling for compensation for displaced families.
Other protesters, including landlords who lost their properties, lamented that the demolitions had plunged many families into hardship.
Prince Oluwajimusu, Lagos chairman of Egbe Omo Ilaje, described the evictions as a deliberate attempt to erase Ilaje heritage.
“You cannot write the history of Lagos without the Ilaje.
“We will not live as slaves in our own land,” he said, warning that the group would reconsider its political alliances by 2027.
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