Lagos: Women, kids seek refuge in canoes as Otodo Gbame community is destroyed
As Lagos celebrates its 50years of existence with splendour, it has been a contrasting fortune for residents of Otodo Gbame, a rural community in the Lekki area of the state.
Children, men, and women with babies have been made to flounder under harsh weather conditions as their slum is demolished.
They continue to seek refuge in canoes, sailing to nowhere after being left stranded due to forceful eviction by the state government.
Reports say Task Force officers, operating on the orders of the Akinwunmi Ambode-led government, displaced residents at the weekend by shooting sporadically and firing tear gas.
What residents of the community call home, mostly made of canes and bamboo, were reportedly doused with kerosene and razed to the ground.
One Daniel Aya, 20, was reportedly hit and killed by a stray bullet.
The fleeing residents were left at the mercy of the sea.
The state government claims it wants to forestall an environmental disaster and crime with the demolition of the residents’ abodes.
Scroll for disturbing photos from the activities at the community:
