Ogechukwu Maureen Okafor, a prominent human rights defender, has strongly criticized the silence of South-East governors regarding the recent demolition of properties and commercial centers owned by Igbo entrepreneurs in Lagos State.
She warned that the lack of any official statement or intervention from these regional leaders only encourages behaviors that could escalate social tensions.
In a statement released in Lagos on Friday, Okafor highlighted that these acts of destruction reveal a troubling trend of economic and ethnic exclusion that demands urgent national scrutiny and response.
She accused the Lagos State Government of deliberately targeting prosperous Igbo-owned enterprises under the pretext of urban development, expressing profound disappointment at the apparent indifference of South-East officials toward the plight of their own people.
On the other hand, Lagos State authorities have defended the demolitions by claiming that the buildings in question were constructed illegally without the necessary permits.
Nonetheless, Okafor insists that these actions are a calculated effort to economically marginalize an ethnic group that has played a vital role in Lagos’s commercial landscape.
“It is deeply troubling that the five governors from the Igbo-speaking states have opted for silence amid clear evidence of discrimination and systematic dismantling of Ndi Igbo businesses by the Lagos State Government,” she remarked.
“From the vibrant Ladipo Market to the well-known Computer Village, marketplaces and residential areas established by Igbo traders are being dismantled in what appears to be a targeted campaign to suppress the economic strength of a community that has significantly contributed to Lagos’s development, all while our leaders remain silent,” she added.
Okafor emphasized that the ongoing marginalization of such a key ethnic group risks fostering resentment and could ignite social unrest.
She condemned the demolitions as both ethically indefensible and legally questionable, pointing out that they violate the federal constitutional rights guaranteeing all Nigerians the freedom to live and move anywhere within the country.
“Should other states enact similar hostile policies against Yoruba residents or any other ethnic group, the fundamental constitutional right to free movement and settlement across Nigeria would be severely compromised,” she cautioned.
Furthermore, Okafor underscored that this issue goes beyond ethnic lines, framing it as a matter of national importance that requires prompt and decisive action.