The Association of Igbo Town Unions (ASITU) has dragged the Lagos State government to the United Nations Human Rights Council, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the ECOWAS Court of Justice.
ASITU petitioned the bodies over the persistent demolition of shops and properties belonging to Igbo traders and investors in Lagos.
National President of ASITU, Chief Emeka Diwe, who addressed journalists, described the demolitions as “economic cleansing,” lamenting that Nigeria is “dying slowly from the cancer of ethnic discrimination and selective justice.”
Flanked by executive members from various Igbo communities, Diwe said the petition became necessary after repeated efforts to engage relevant Nigerian authorities yielded no response. “We have done this not because we lack faith in Nigerian institutions, but because those institutions have failed to address our documented grievances,” he said.
ASITU dismissed the Lagos State Government’s claim that the demolished structures were built on waterways, insisting that affected properties were legally acquired and duly approved. “They send a message to investors that property rights in Nigeria are not secure and that ethnic sentiments may influence government actions,” Diwe stated.
