Renowned human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has fiercely criticized the ongoing wave of house demolitions in Abuja and Lagos as unconstitutional violations of the rule of law, emphasizing that no governor or minister has the authority to raze properties without a valid court order.
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Speaking on Arise News Channel’s The Morning Show on Friday, Falana warned of impending lawsuits from affected residents and highlighted recent landmark court judgments holding authorities accountable for bypassing due process.
Falana described the midnight demolitions — carried out despite subsisting court orders — as a blatant affront to the judiciary and Nigeria’s constitutional framework. “No governor or minister has the power to demolish a house in Nigeria without a valid court order,” he asserted. “Under our constitutional arrangement, you must go to court to prove that a building violates the law before demolition can be authorised.”
He underscored that both Lagos and Abuja operate under Urban and Regional Planning laws that mandate statutory notices to property owners, opportunities for appeals, and judicial oversight before any enforcement action. Ignoring these procedures, Falana argued, renders the exercises illegal and exposes officials to personal liability.
In a strong call to action, Falana revealed that victims of the recent demolitions in Lagos’s Oworonshoki area are preparing to file suits for damages. He cited two pivotal recent rulings as precedents: In July 2025, Hon. Justice Mu’azu of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court awarded ₦200 million in compensation against the FCT Administration (FCTA) for conducting demolitions without adhering to statutory provisions. Similarly, in 2024, Hon. Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa (not Ogazi, as initially reported) of the Federal High Court ordered the Lagos State Government to pay ₦3.5 billion to victims of illegal demolitions in Makoko.
“All the victims of demolition are going to court. They are going to sue for damages,” Falana declared, adding that affected citizens nationwide have an unassailable legal right to seek redress. He recalled a Supreme Court precedent from Nigeria’s defunct military era, which affirmed that once a court is seized of a matter, the government ruling by law must allow due process to unfold fully.
Falana’s outrage extended to the “arrogance” of some public officials who brazenly declare that demolitions will proceed “and nothing will happen.” “My pain is that even under the military junta, the Supreme Court made the point that in any country where the rule of law breaks down, due process must run its course,” he said. Vowing an end to such impunity, he added: “Where a permanent secretary, in defiance of the law, says ‘we are going to demolish the houses and nothing will happen,’ we are going to show them that a lot will happen this time around. Nobody is above the law in this country.”
Falana urged all authorities federal or state to strictly comply with court decisions establishing due process as a prerequisite for such actions, signaling a renewed push for accountability in Nigeria’s governance.
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