Tension flared on Monday at the Oko-Oba Abattoir in Agege as officials of the Lagos State Government demolished several structures within the facility over alleged sanitation violations .
The move, which comes shortly after the indefinite closure of the abattoir for repeated environmental breaches, was confirmed by the Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
However, the demolition sparked outrage among traders at the abattoir, who accused the government of being insensitive to their plight amid growing economic hardship. The traders claimed the affected structures were not illegal, arguing that they had paid allocation fees to the government and had previously pledged to clean up the environment.
“We are not against keeping the environment clean,” one of the traders told Lagos Reporters. “But what the government has done is anti-people. They should have given us time, especially with how tough the economy is now.”
While the government insists the demolition is part of its effort to enforce public health standards, the traders say they feel targeted and abandoned.
As of the time of filing this report, security personnel remained stationed at the facility to prevent further resistance.
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