FROM UMUAHIA, NDIGBO DECLEARS THEIR STAND ON DEMOLITION OF IGBO SHOPS IN LAGOS

FROM UMUAHIA, NDIGBO DECLEARS THEIR STAND ON DEMOLITION OF IGBO SHOPS IN LAGOS

"TEXT OF WORLD PRESS CONFERENCE BY THE ASSOCIATION OF IGBO TOWN UNIONS (ASITU) ON THE INHUMAN AND UNENDING DEMOLITION OF IGBO BUILDINGS AND ASSETS IN LAGOS, HELD IN UMUAHIA, THE ABIA STATE CAPITAL,ON THISDAY, FRIDAY, OCTOBER  24TH,2025.

Distinguished gentlemen of the press,

For months now, we have watched in anguish as properties owned by Igbo businessmen and women in Lagos State have been systematically demolished. These are not abandoned structures or overnight shanties. These are life investments: plazas where mothers sell to feed their children, warehouses where young men store goods for their families, shops where dreams of prosperity are nurtured with sweat and prayer. 

On February 14, 2025, trading plazas belonging to Igbo businessmen at Ebute Ero Market were demolished by agents of the Lagos State Government.Since September 2025, demolitions have intensified at theTradeFair Complex in Ojo, wherec ountless Igbo traders conduct their daily commerce.These demolitions continue to this day.

ASITU acknowledges that Lagos State Government has a duty to enforce planning laws, maintain safety standards, and prevent building collapses. We do not dispute the government's right to ensure orderly urban development.What we dispute, and what we categorically reject, is the selective, discriminatory, and often extrajudicial manner in which these demolitions have been carried out. Many of the demolished properties had valid approvals issued by the very same Lagos State Government that later destroyed them. Owners who followed due process, who paid their fees, who waited for stamps and signatures, now stand amid ruins, asking one simple question: "Why?”

Where notices were given, they were often too brief for meaningful legal response. Where documentation was presented, it was dismissed or ignored. Where owners attempted to regularize perceived deficiencies, they were met with bulldozers instead of bureaucrats.This is not law enforcement; this is the erasure of livelihoods,

The destruction of legitimacy, the violation of constitutional guarantees that should protect every Nigerian regardless of ethnicity.

It is necessary to speak plainly about something that weighs down every Igbo man: our people love Nigeria. Let no one doubt this. Let no one twist our cries for justice into calls for secession. We have bled for Nigeria. We have built Nigeria."

"In every corner of this nation, from Sokoto to Calabar,  from Maiduguri to Badagry, you will find Igbo men and women who have invested not just their money, but their very lives into the Nigerian dream. We are the traders in your markets, the manufacturers in your industrial estates, the teachers in your schools, the doctors in your hospitals, the engineers building your roads and bridges. We are the adhesive that binds this nation together. While others may see Nigeria as a collection of regions, we see it as one country, one economy, one shared destiny. That is why we do not cluster only in Igboland.That is why we spread across every state, building, investing, employing, and integrating.We marry your daughters and give you our sons.We speak your languages and respect your customs.We celebrate Nigeria's diversity because we live it every single day. No other ethnic group in Nigeria has so thoroughly embraced the idea of a unified Nigerian state through their actions, their investments, and their presence everywhere.

Yet, we are consistently made to feel unwelcome. We are told we are too ambitious, too industrious, too enterprising. Our success is resented rather than celebrated. Our properties become targets.Our investments become liabilities. And when we cry out, we are told we are troublemakers, that we are ungrateful, that we should "go back to where we came from", as if Lagos, as if any part of Nigeria, is not ours too. As if the Constitution does not guarantee every Nigerian the right to reside and own property in any part of the Federation.

The painful truth that haunts our collective consciousness is that when an Igbo man calls himself a Biafran today, it is not because he wakes up dreaming of secession. It is because he goes to sleep feeling rejected. It is because he has been made to feel that Nigeria does not want him, that despite his contributions, despite his sacrifices, despite his unwavering belief in one Nigeria, he is still considered an outsider. The Biafran identity that you hear in some Igbo voices today is not a threat to Nigeria; it is a cry of pain from Nigerians who feel marginalized, who feel excluded, who feel that their citizenship is conditional, even worthless. Biafra is a phenomenon. To the extent an Igbo man feels the marginalization, to that extent he is a Biafran.Therefore, Iam and we are in this context Biafrans. Go call police for us.

Let the world understand this:The Igbo man sees himself as Biafran to the extent that he feels unwelcome in Nigeria, not because he inherently desires separation. He retreats into ethnic identity when national identity is denied to him.He speaks of Biafra when Nigeria speak stohiminthelanguageofdemolitions,marginalization, and exclusion. If Nigeria would embrace her Igbo children fully, if Nigeria would protecttheirconstitutionalrights,ifNigeriawouldcelebratetheirindustryratherthan punishit,youwouldfindnomorepatrioticNigeriansthantheIgbopeople.

ThesedemolitionsinLagosarenotjustaboutbuildings.Theyareanassaultonthe very principles of nation-building and national cohesion that our founding fathers envisioned.HowdowebuildoneNigeriawhencitizensareafraidtoinvestoutside theirethnichomelands?Howdowepreachunitywheninvestmentinanotherstate becomes a liability ratherthan an asset? How do we achieve economic developmentwhenproductiveenterpriseisdestroyedwithoutdueprocess?These demolitions send a chilling message to every entrepreneur in Nigeria: your legal documents mean nothing; yourapprovals can be revoked arbitrarily; your investmentsarenotsecure;yourethnicitymaydetermineyourfate.

One of the claims repeatedly made by officials of the Lagos State Government to justifythesedemolitionsisthattheaffectedbuildingswereconstructedondrainage channels and canals. However, Senator Victor Umeh, himself a trained and experiencedrealestateprofessional,personallyledateamtoinspectsomeofthe demolishedsites.Afterhistechnicalassessment,SenatorUmehdeclaredpublicly thatthoseclaimswerecompletelyfalse,asnoneofthedemolishedstructuresstood onanydrainagealignmentorcanalpath.Hisfindingshavecastseriousdoubton theintegrityoftheLagosStateGovernmentanditsofficials.

It breaks every Igbo heart most profoundly that many of these demolished propertieswerebuiltwithpermits,approvals,andcertificatesissuedbytheLagos State Government itself. Think about the cruel irony of this. A man goes to the government office, fills the forms, pays the fees, waits for weeks or months for approval. Finally, he receives the precious document stamped and signed by government officials. He breathes a sigh of relief. He proceeds to invest his life savings.Heconstructshisshop,hisplaza,hiswarehouse.Hehiresworkers,many ofthemindigenousLagosians,wemustadd.Hepaystaxes.Hecontributestothe local economy. Then one morning, bulldozersarrive with that verysame government'sagents,declaringhisapprovedbuildingillegal,andwithinhours,his dreams are reduced to rubbles.

Howdoesoneexplainthistohischildren?Howdoesoneexplainthistohisaged mother in the village who sold her only farmland to contribute to her son's business?

Howdoesoneexplainthistohiscreditorswhoadvancedhimloansbasedonthe government's own documentation? How does one explain this to his employees who are now jobless? This is not governance; this is betrayal. This is not law enforcement; this is wickedness. And when this wickedness appears to target a particular ethnic group disproportionately, it becomes something even more sinister;itbecomesethniccleansingbyeconomicmeans.

WehavedocumentedcaseaftercasewhereIgbopropertyownersfollowedevery legalrequirement,onlytohavetheirpropertiesdemolishedwhilesimilarstructures ownedbyothersremainuntouched.Wehaverecordedinstanceswherenoticesof demolition were served so close to the actual demolition date that no meaningful legalresponsewaspossible.Wehavewitnessedsituationswherepropertyowners who attempted to present their documentation were turned away or ignored. We have seen the pain in the eyes of elderly traders who have lost everything they workedforoverdecades.Thispainisreal.Thisinjusticeisdocumented.Anditcan no longer be ignored.

ASITU has formally petitioned the United Nations Human Rights Council, the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, and the ECOWAS Court of Justice. We have done this not because we lack faith in Nigerian institutions, but because those institutions have failed to respond adequately to our documented grievances. We have made two prior statements, engaged local authorities, and sought dialogue at every level. Yet the demolitions continue. The silence from federal authorities has been deafening. The indifference from those who should defend constitutional rightshasbeen crushing.

Today, we are establishing a Property Rights Violation Desk that will serve as a comprehensivedocumentationandlegalresponsecenter.Thisdeskwillcollectand collateverifieddataoneverycaseofdemolitionaffectingIgbopropertyownersin Lagos; names, addresses, dates, documentation, approvals, notices given or not given, compensation offered or denied. We will provide legal representation to affectedpersons.Wewillanalyzepatternsofenforcementandmobilizeindefense of Igbo property rights. We will prepare cases for Nigerian courts and, where necessary, for international tribunals.

We call upon every affected property owner to come forward. Do not suffer in silence.Donotacceptinjusticeasfate.Bringyourdocuments,yourapprovals,your receipts, your photographs, your witnesses. Let us build an undeniable record of what has happened here. Let us create a case so comprehensive, so well- documented,solegallysoundthatitcannotbedismissedorignored.Yourindividual painwillbecome

ourcollectivestrength.Yourlosseswillbedocumentedasevidenceofapattern that demands remedy and reform.

TotheIgbosenatorsandrepresentativesintheNationalAssembly,wesaythis withalltheurgencyinourhearts:youwerenotsenttoAbujatobespectators.You were not elected to watch your people suffer in silence. You took an oath to defend the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. That Constitution guarantees property rights, equal protection, due process, and freedom from discrimination.Wheretheserightsareviolated,astheyarebeingviolatednow, youmustact.Convenehearings.SummonLagosStateofficials.Inviteaffected property owners to testify. Legislate stronger protections. Pursue oversight. Make it impossible for this matter to be swept under the carpet of political expediency.

To the federal government of Nigeria, to President BolaAhmed Tinubu, to the Minister of Works and Housing, to theAttorney-General of the Federation, we appealtoyoursenseofjusticeandnationalresponsibility.Thesedemolitionsare happening underyourwatch. They undermine the rule of law that your administrationhassworntouphold.Theythreatentheeconomicconfidencethat Nigeria desperately needs to attract investment. They damage Nigeria's reputation internationally as a country where property rights are respected and ethnic discrimination is not tolerated. Issue cleardirectives to all state governments reminding them of constitutional limits on demolition powers, insistingondueprocess,transparency,andnon-discrimination.

To the government of Lagos State and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, we demand in clear terms: suspend these demolitions immediately. Conduct a comprehensive,transparentreviewofeverypropertydemolishedormarkedfor demolition. Publish the list of affected properties, the notices served, the approvals on record, the criteria used for enforcement. Where mistakes have been made, where propertieswith valid approvalswere demolished, acknowledge those mistakes and provide full, fair, and prompt compensation. Wheredocumentationisincompletethroughnofaultofthepropertyowner,allow reasonable regularization processes instead ofdemolition.

RememberthatLagosbecamethecommercialcapitalofNigeriabecausepeople fromalloverthecountryinvestedthere,builtthere,andmadeittheirhome.Igbo traders and businessmen are a major part of what makes Lagos prosperous. Theirenterprisecreatesjobs;jobsforYorubas,jobsforotherNigerians,jobsfor everyone.TheirtaxescontributetoLagosStaterevenue.Theirinvestmentsadd to Lagos's economic dynamism.

These demolitions inflame ethnic tensions at a time when Nigeria needs unity morethanever.Theysendamessagetoinvestors,bothdomesticandforeign, that property

rights in Nigeria are not secure, that approvals can be arbitrarily revoked, that ethnicidentitymayinfluencegovernmentaction.Noseriousinvestorwillcommit capital in such an environment. The economic consequences of this injustice extend far beyond the demolished buildings. They affect investor confidence, economic growth, job creation, and Nigeria's reputation as a place where businesscanbeconductedundertheruleoflaw.

To our brothers and sisters across Nigeria who are not Igbo, we want you to imagine for a moment that this was happening to you. Imagine that you built a business in another state with all proper approvals, and one day bulldozers arrivedtodestroyeverythingyouhadworkedfor.Imaginethatwhenyoulooked around,mostofthedemolishedpropertiesbelongedtopeopleofyourethnicity, while similar structures owned by others remained standing. Imagine that you tried to seek justice but found doors closed, sympathies cold, and authorities indifferent.Wouldyounotcryout?Wouldyounotdemandjustice?Wouldyounot questionwhetheryouweretrulyafullcitizenofyourcountry?

ThisisnotanIgboproblem;thisisaNigerianproblem.TodayitisIgboproperties inLagos.TomorrowitcouldbeYorubapropertiesinKano,Hausapropertiesin Calabar, or any Nigerian's property anywhere if we allow the principle to stand that government can arbitrarily destroy legally approved property, that ethnic discrimination in enforcement is acceptable, that constitutional rights can be violatedwithimpunity.EveryNigerianwhovaluesjustice,whobelievesintherule oflaw,whowantsaNigeriawhere“NomanisOppress”;wherecitizenshipmeans something,shouldbeconcernedaboutwhatishappeninginLagos

To the international community, to foreign investors considering Nigeria, to diplomatic missions observing our democracy, to international human rights organizations,wesay:payattentiontowhatishappeninghere.Nigeriaclaimsto beAfrica'slargesteconomyandademocraticnationgovernedbytheruleoflaw. These claims ring hollow when legitimate property can be demolished without due process, when ethnic discrimination appearsto guide government enforcement,when constitutional protections are ignored. The international communityhasleverage,throughtrade,throughinvestment,throughdiplomatic pressure. Use that leverage to insist that Nigeria live up to its constitutional commitmentsanditsinternationalhumanrightsobligations.

To civil society organizations, human rights lawyers, activists, and defenders ofjustice:partnerwithus.JointhePropertyRightsViolationDesk.Contribute yourexpertiseindocumentation,legalstrategy,andpublicadvocacy.Helpus shine light on these

injustices. Help us build cases that cannot be dismissed. Help us create a movement for constitutional rights and equal citizenship that extends beyond ethnicboundaries.ThisfightisnotjustaboutIgbopropertyowners;itisaboutthe futureofpropertyrights,dueprocess,andequalityinNigeria.

To the Igbo business community, do not be discouraged. Do not abandon your legitimateenterprises.Donotallowtheseinjusticestobreakyourentrepreneurial spiritthathasmadetheIgbopeoplerenownedthroughoutAfricaandbeyond.But also,embracewithrenewedvigorthephilosophyofAkuRuoUlo:letwealthreturn home.InvestinIgboland.BuildinIgboland.DevelopindustriesinAbia,Anambra, Ebonyi,Enugu,andImostates.Makeourhomelandaneconomicpowerhouseso strong, so prosperous, so industrialized that it becomes a foundation of strength from which we engage Nigeria and the world on terms of confidence, not vulnerability.

AkuRuoUloisnotaboutretreatorsecession;itisaboutbuildingfromapositionof strength. It is about ensuring that while we continue to invest across Nigeria, we have a home base that is economically vibrant, that cannot be threatened, that gives us dignity and security. It is about making Igboland so attractive for investment that people from all over Nigeria will want to come, invest, and build there; just as we have done in Lagos and everywhere else. That is true nation building:mutualinvestment,mutualrespect,mutualprosperity.

LetusaddressdirectlytheyouthofIgboland,thosewhoarefrustrated,thosewho areangry,thosewhofeelthatNigeriahasrejectedthem.Weunderstandyourpain. Wefeelittoo.Butweurgeyou:donotallowbitternesstodriveyoutoviolenceor destructive action. Channel your anger into constructive organizing. Document injustices. Pursue legal remedies. Build businesses.Acquire education. Develop skills. Become so excellent, so indispensable, so valuable that Nigeria cannot ignore you. The best response to those who want to marginalize us is not to withdraw, but to become so successful that our presence cannot be denied, our contributions cannot be dismissed, and our rights cannot be violated without consequences.

To the Nigerian media, we appeal to your professional commitment to truth. Investigate these demolitions. Visit the affected sites. Interview property owners. Examine the documents. Compare the official explanations with the facts on the ground.Lookatpatterns,whichpropertiesaredemolishedandwhicharespared. Look at procedures, which owners received adequate notice and opportunity to respond,andwhichdidnot.Donotsimplyreportgovernmentpressreleases.Do the hard work of investigative journalism? Tell the human stories behind the statistics.ShowNigeriaandtheworldwhatisreallyhappeninginLagos.

We want to say something about the Yoruba people of Lagos because we do not want this issue to be misunderstood as ethnic conflict between Igbo and Yoruba. Thisisnot,andmustnotbecome,aninter-ethnicdispute.ManyYorubapeopleare appalled by these demolitions. ManyYoruba friends have reached out to express solidarity. ManyYoruba professionals, lawyers, journalists, activists, have spoken out against the injustice. We acknowledge and appreciate this. Our quarrel is not with the Yoruba people. Ourquarrel is with unjust government policy, with discriminatory enforcement, with violation of constitutional rights. We call on progressive Yoruba leaders to join us in demanding justice, not because we are Igbo,butbecause this is wrong.

TherelationshipbetweentheIgboandYorubapeopleshasbeenoneofthedefining features of Nigerian history, sometimes cooperative, sometimes competitive, but always deeply intertwined. We must not allow this demolition issue to poison and demolish that relationship. We must work together to ensure that Lagos remains whatithasalwaysbeen:Nigeria'smostcosmopolitancity,aplacewheretalentand enterprise from all over the country can flourish, a model of what Nigeria can be whenweembraceourdiversityratherthanweaponizeit.

Nigeria is dying slowly from the cancer of ethnic discrimination, selective justice, constitutionalviolations,andtheerosionoftrustbetweencitizensandgovernment. Thesedemolitionsaresymptomsofthatdeeperdisease.Ifwedonotaddressthe root causes, if we do not insist on equal citizenship, rule of law, due process, and respectforconstitutionalrights,Nigeriawillcontinuetofracture.Thecenterwillnot hold. And we will all lose the Nigerian dream that our independence generation envisioned.

The Igbo people have never asked for special privileges in Nigeria. We have only askedforwhattheConstitutionpromiseseverycitizen:equalprotectionunderlaw, securityofproperty,dueprocess,freedomfromdiscrimination,andtherighttolive and invest anywhere in the Federation. Is this too much to ask? Is this an unreasonable demand? If these basic constitutional rights cannot be guaranteed, thenwhatdoes Nigerian citizenship mean?

Let us conclude with this appeal to every Nigerian of conscience, to every leader who values justice, to every citizen who believes in the Nigerian project: these demolitionsmust stop. The pattern of selective enforcementmust end. Constitutionalrightsmustberespected.Propertyownerswhohadvalidapprovals mustbecompensated.Reformsmustbeimplementedtopreventsuchinjusticein thefuture.Andmechanismsmustbeestablishedtoensurethatnoethnicgroupis targetedfordiscriminatorytreatmentinanypartofNigeria.

ThefutureofNigeriadependsonourabilitytotreateachotherfairly,torespect theruleoflaw,tohonorconstitutionalguarantees,andtobuildanationwhere every citizen, regardless of ethnicity, can invest, build, and prosper without fear of arbitrary government action. The Igbo people have demonstrated through our actions, our investments, and our presence in every corner of NigeriathatwebelieveinoneNigeria.NowNigeriamustdemonstratethrough justice, fairness, and respect for constitutional rights that it believes in all Nigerians.

ToeveryIgbopersonwhohaslostpropertyinthesedemolitions,ASITUsees you. We hear your pain. We will fight for your justice. You are not alone. To everyNigerianwhobelievesinfairness,weinviteyoutostandwithus,notjust becauseweareIgbo,butbecausethisisright.Andweshallnevergiveup.

ToIgbosindiaspora,speaklouder,especiallyininternationaljusticeforIgbos. youareinafreerclimetodoso.HereinNigeria,ourfreedomappearslimited, forfearofbeingcaptured.Ourbrotherandhiscolleaguearestillinprison.Itis possiblethatmyfamilymaynotseemeagainafterthispressconferencejust for saying the truth. But No Regret. No Apologies.To God be the glory it is well with my soul.

Chief Emeka Diwe

President, Association of Igbo Town Unions(ASITU)