Human rights activist and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has condemned the ongoing demolition of waterfront properties in Lagos State, describing the operations as a “brazen display of executive impunity” that violates existing court orders and constitutional protections.

He issued the rebuke in a statement released on Sunday, January 25, 2026.

Falana said the Lagos State Government’s continued evictions and destruction of homes, schools and medical centres in communities such as Makoko, Oko-Agbon, Sogunro and Iwaya have led to the loss of lives and displacement of thousands of residents, affecting some of the city’s most vulnerable populations.

He described the actions as “illegal, unconstitutional, and contemptuous” of legal orders.

The senior lawyer pointed to a series of court rulings restraining further demolitions, including a June 2017 Lagos High Court judgment that declared previous evictions of more than 30,000 residents unconstitutional and required resettlement plans before any future evictions.

He also cited an August 25, 2025, Federal High Court order that restrained both the state government and the Nigeria Police Force from carrying out further unlawful demolitions in affected waterfront settlements.

Falana argued that the state’s actions also contravene a January 7, 2024 Supreme Court decision affirming that the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) has exclusive control over activities on navigable waters and their rights of way, thus stripping the Lagos government of legal authority to demolish structures in these specific areas.

In his statement, he urged Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to immediately comply with these subsisting judicial orders, warning that the persistent disregard for court rulings amounts to a “glaring sabotage of the judicial arm of government.”

He recalled precedent where even a former military governor respected a Supreme Court order, underscoring the importance of the rule of law.

Falana maintained that urban renewal policies must prioritise constitutional rights and the resettlement of vulnerable residents and criticised the government for forceful acquisition of land for private development without adequate legal basis or protections for affected communities.

His comments come amid wider protests and criticism from rights groups and local residents, who have also condemned the demolitions as systematic violations of rights and an attack on the urban poor in Lagos.