Residents of several communities in the Ibeju-Lekki Local Government Area say they are living in fear following fresh markings allegedly indicating a 150-meter setback on both sides of the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway – a move they warn could erase long-standing ancestral settlements.
Some community leaders told ENigeria Newspaper that officials believed to be from the Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation recently marked structures extending 150 meters to the right and 150 meters to the left of the highway corridor.
According to them, the development has sparked panic in areas already affected by earlier demolitions tied to the project. Chief Adebayo Agbabiaka, speaking on behalf of the communities, told ENigeria Newspaper that previous realignments of the corridor had already led to the demolition of houses, shrines, and ancestral landmarks.
He noted that earlier exercises displaced entire villages, including storied buildings constructed long before major road infrastructure reached the area. According to him, in past decades residents transported building materials by boat through Epe and carried them inland to develop their communities, an effort he said reflected deep-rooted ties to the land.
“After all these sufferings and perseverance, some people entered our communities again and began marking houses for fresh demolition. They said they were from the Surveyor General’s office.
“They marked 150 meters to the right and 150 meters to the left, despite the extent of destruction already suffered by the community.
“By extending the so-called 150 meters, all the communities will be heavily affected. These are our ancestral homes. If they are taken from us, where will we go?
“We are not begging the government to relocate us. We are not even asking for compensation because, even if they compensate us, where are we expected to go?” he added.
Agbabiaka also criticized the compensation process during earlier phases of the project, describing payments as grossly inadequate.
He said some families received between N9 million and N10 million, sums he argued could not secure alternative land in Ibeju-Lekki, let alone cover the relocation of whole households. While compensation was reportedly paid for crops destroyed during construction, he added that many homeowners were yet to receive payment for demolished buildings.
“After all these sufferings and perseverance, some people entered our communities again and began marking houses for fresh demolition. They said they were from the Surveyor-General’s office,” he said.
“They marked 150 meters to the right and 150 meters to the left, despite the extent of destruction already suffered by the community. By extending the so-called 150 meters, all the communities will be heavily affected. These are our ancestral homes. If they are taken from us, where will we go?”
However, a source in the Federal Ministry of Works clarified that the markings do not amount to an immediate demolition order. It explained that the exercise was intended to notify residents that buildings within the marked corridor fall on federal government land.
For many in Ibeju-Lekki, families await clarity on whether the fresh markings signal a warning or the beginning of another sweep.
