Aggrieved homeowners along the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, under the auspices of the Project Affected Persons, have lamented that they were being asked to vacate their properties within a rigid 150-metre line from the high-water mark or face demolition without due compensation and notification.
In a recent position paper, titled ‘Our Homes, Our Rights: Rejecting Retroactive Eviction’, Under the Guise of UNCLOS, the group explained that the directive, attributed to the Surveyor-General of the Federation, is being justified by reference to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, describing the directive as a dangerous misrepresentation of UNCLOS and a betrayal of Nigerian law.
The group explained that the UNCLOS, which Nigeria ratified in 1982, is a treaty governing maritime boundaries, navigation, resource rights, and marine environmental protection.
It noted that nowhere in its 320 articles is there any provision that “prescribes a 150-metre coastal setback, requires the demolition of existing structures, authorises the retroactive eviction of lawful occupants, and overrides national constitutional protections for property rights.”
“We, the undersigned Project Affected Persons, homeowners, business owners, community leaders, and lawful occupants of properties along Nigeria’s coastal belt, stand before you today not as lawbreakers, but as citizens whose constitutional rights are being trampled under the false banner of international law. For over 30 years, we have built lives, businesses, schools, and places of worship on land acquired legally, developed with permits from state planning authorities, and occupied without objection. Now, without due process, without compensation, and without scientific justification tailored to our specific locations, we are being told to vacate within a rigid 150-metre line from the high-water mark or face demolition,” the group stated.
The group highlighted that what UNCLOS, particularly in Articles 192–222 (Part XII), states is that coastal states like Nigeria have a duty to protect and preserve the marine environment. “But this duty must be exercised in accordance with national law, due process, and human rights standards.”
The legal counsel to the group, Sola Enitan, mentioned that what is unfolding under the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway project is not a lawful acquisition; “it is a pattern of coercion, dispossession, and disregard for constitutional safeguards.”
He explained that Section 43 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria guarantees every citizen the right to acquire and own immovable property.
According to him, Section 44(1) provides that no property shall be compulsorily acquired except in accordance with a law that clearly states the purpose of the acquisition, ensures prompt payment of compensation, and guarantees access to a court or tribunal for redress.
He stressed that the Land Use Act, which has a constitutional flavour, does not give the government a blank cheque; it creates a framework.
“Section 28: revocation of rights of occupancy is only permissible for overriding public interest and must follow due process. Section 28(4): revocation must be published in the Official Gazette. Section 28(6): notice of revocation must be served on the holder/occupier. Section 29: there must be proper valuation and payment of compensation for land, buildings, economic trees, and improvements before lawful possession. Any acquisition that bypasses these steps is not just irregular; it is unconstitutional and void,” he stated.
Enitan highlighted that there is a dangerous belief in some official circles that certain lands, especially coastal lands, waterfronts, or lands near federal roads, belong automatically to the Federal Government by virtue of “setback laws” or some undefined federal prerogative.
“That belief is legally wrong. Against this legal background, the conduct surrounding the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway is indefensible. No proper cartography and delineation of the exact lands to be acquired has been transparently presented to affected communities. No formal written notices have been served on many residents whose properties are being marked or demolished. No publication in the Official Gazette has been shown to the public, as required for valid revocation. No comprehensive valuation of affected properties—homes, businesses, economic trees, and improvements—has been carried out in a transparent, professional manner. No meaningful opportunity has been given to affected persons to lodge claims, contest valuations, or be heard. No prompt payment of compensation has preceded demolitions and evictions,” Enitan asserted.
He added that instead, what the group has seen are coercion, forced evictions, demolitions under armed supervision, and a climate of fear among law-abiding citizens.
“This is not lawful acquisition; it is trespass, expropriation, and a violation of Sections 43 and 44 of the Constitution, as well as the Land Use Act and the long line of judicial authorities I have cited,” Enitan added.
He warned that an acquisition carried out without proper notice, gazette publication, valuation, and compensation is void ab initio.
Enitan pointed out that the group is demanding an immediate halt to all ongoing demolitions and acquisitions connected to the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway that do not comply with constitutional and statutory requirements. “Full disclosure of all acquisition instruments, gazette notices, and valuation reports; a transparent, lawful, and humane process that respects the rights of every affected citizen,” he mentioned.
The Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway is a major Federal Government infrastructure project designed to build a roughly 700-kilometre highway stretching from Lagos in the southwest to Calabar in the southeast of Nigeria, passing through several coastal and southern states, including Ogun, Ondo, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, and Akwa Ibom, before ending in Cross River State.
