Lagos Demolishes Structures Under Power Lines 

The Lagos State Government has intensified safety operations in the Ikola community with the controlled demolition of structures built beneath high-tension electricity lines.

The government said the exercise is part of efforts to protect residents from the risk of electrocution, fire outbreaks and structural collapse.

The intervention was led by the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, in coordination with the Lagos State Police Command and the Rapid Response Squad, RRS. It followed recent communal tensions in the area and the discovery of extensive informal settlements within the high-voltage power-line corridor.

According to a statement signed by the Permanent Secretary of LASEMA, Dr. Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, the operation is focused on addressing the safety hazard posed by structures erected within the statutory right-of-way of the power lines.

The government said the intervention was not targeted at any ethnic group or community, but at a “dangerous structural reality” threatening residents living within the restricted corridor.

LASEMA said affected communities were given adequate notice and ample time to evacuate and retrieve their belongings before demolition began. The agency described the exercise as a “coordinated, humane, and orderly intervention.”

The agency added that heavy recovery equipment had been deployed to clear the structures and restore the power-line corridor to its intended purpose.

“All officers and personnel involved in the operation are safe, and the situation remains calm and under control,” the statement said.

The Lagos State Government said the recent clash between Hausa and Yoruba residents in Ikola had highlighted the urgent need to address wider public safety risks in the community.

It stressed that while residents have a right to shelter and livelihood, those rights must be balanced with the collective responsibility to prevent avoidable loss of life.

“No development is sustainable where it is built on avoidable risk,” the government said.

The state also pledged to continue engaging community leaders, traditional rulers and other stakeholders in Ikola and across Lagos to promote peaceful coexistence, enforce urban planning regulations and provide information on safe and approved areas for settlement.

Oke-Osanyintolu urged residents to desist from constructing buildings under power lines, gas pipelines and other restricted corridors, and advised them to seek guidance from the relevant authorities before putting up structures.