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By Daniel Adaji
Amnesty International has condemned the Lagos State Government’s continued crackdown on homeless people, urging an immediate end to what it described as “harsh eviction tactics” and the criminalization of poverty.
In an exclusive interview with Pointblanknews.com on Saturday, Isa Sanusi, Nigeria Country Director of Amnesty International, decried the recent arrest of 74 homeless persons by the Lagos State Environmental Taskforce during a midnight raid across parts of Lagos Island and Lekki.
“For many years, Lagos State Government has been stigmatizing poverty and criminalizing it as well through ruthless forced evictions and arrest of destitute,” Sanusi said.
He criticized the government’s approach to homelessness and called for a shift in priorities.
“Amnesty International condemns this brazen attempt by the government of Lagos State to demonize people living in poverty,” he said.
“The government should prioritize supporting people to address the rising housing crisis, instead of using law enforcement to punish them,” he added.
The arrests occurred in the early hours of Tuesday, with officials targeting areas including Falomo Bridge, Eko Hotel Roundabout, Oniru Beach, the Nigerian Law School area, Lekki Phases 1 and 2, and 1004 Estate.
According to Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, 72 men and 2 women were apprehended and would be charged to court.
“Sanity was restored in all the areas,” Wahab wrote on his official X (formerly Twitter) handle, justifying the action as part of routine enforcement.
However, the crackdown has sparked public outrage, especially on social media, where many users questioned the morality of punishing people for being homeless.
“This is so pathetic, arresting people for being homeless instead of helping?” wrote Facebook user Ikechukwu Oge. Another commenter, Christian Chrisgold, added, “You want to charge a person to court for being homeless? What a nonsense government.”
While a few defended the move, citing potential links to criminality among some street dwellers, the broader backlash has highlighted growing discontent over the handling of Nigeria’s worsening housing and poverty crisis.
Nigeria currently faces a housing deficit of over 28 million units, according to the Federal Mortgage Bank.
In Lagos, where rents continue to skyrocket and affordable housing remains scarce, the consequences of the crisis are especially severe.
The National Bureau of Statistics reports that over 63 per cent of Nigerians are multi-dimensionally poor—lacking access to healthcare, education, and basic living standards.
For Amnesty International, the pattern of forced evictions and arrests of the urban poor reflects systemic failure.
Sanusi stressed that the Lagos State Government must recognize that “people living in poverty deserve dignity and support, not criminalization.”