...Say actions amount to economic cleansing, selective justice

By Sandra Ugwu

The Association of Igbo Town Unions (ASITU) has petitioned the United Nations Human Rights Council, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the ECOWAS Court of Justice over what it described as “systematic demolition” of shops and properties owned by Igbo traders in Lagos State.

Speaking at a press conference in Umuahia, the National President of ASITU, Chief Emeka Diwe, said the move became necessary following the continued silence of Nigerian authorities over what the group termed “economic cleansing” targeting a specific ethnic group.

According to Diwe, repeated appeals and documented complaints submitted to relevant government agencies had yielded no results, forcing the group to take its case beyond Nigeria’s borders.

“We are not doing this because we lack faith in Nigerian institutions,” Diwe said, “but because those institutions have consistently failed to act on our petitions. Nigeria is dying slowly from the cancer of ethnic discrimination and selective justice.”

The group faulted the Lagos State Government’s justification that the demolished properties were built on waterways, insisting that most of the affected structures were legally acquired and duly approved by the same authorities that later ordered their destruction.

“This is not urban regulation, it is the erasure of livelihoods,” Diwe declared. “Many of the demolished buildings had valid approvals. Such actions destroy investor confidence, threaten economic growth, and portray Nigeria as a country where ethnic bias overrides the rule of law.”

ASITU also accused Lagos officials of issuing demolition notices too close to execution dates, leaving property owners with little or no time to challenge the orders in court.

While urging victims to remain peaceful and law-abiding, the association called on Ndigbo to adopt the Aku Ruo Ulo philosophy, encouraging reinvestment of wealth in the South-East as a pathway to regional economic resilience.

“Let our homeland become an economic powerhouse that commands respect,” Diwe advised. “Our call for justice is not a call for separation, but a demand for fairness, mutual respect, and national unity built on equity.”

ASITU’s petition marks a significant escalation in tensions over property rights and ethnic relations in Lagos, coming amid broader national debates about inclusion, governance, and the protection of minority communities across Nigeria.