End the Murderous Evictions in Lagos

Imagine waking up to the sounds of flames lapping at your door, the pop of gunfire outside your window and the crunching sound of a bulldozer edging ever closer to the place you call home. In Lagos, Nigeria, this isn't just a nightmare, it's a reality.

According to human rights groups, officials in Nigeria's largest city of have been conducting a brutal eviction campaign. Expelling more than around 30,000 poor who call Lagos' lucrative waterfront home. What was once considered useless land has now caught the eye of wealthy developers hoping to construct residences for the Nigerian well-to-do.

Residents say the police have burned down houses, used guns and teargas and completely demolished the places they once called home. In fact, since the forced evictions have begun 11 people have been killed. Many of the victims were children.

Housing in Lagos is not cheap and for many, poverty keeps them on the edges of the city. The people of the waterfront areas live precarious lives, in poorly constructed buildings and often survive off the fish they catch and now, because of greed, they are losing their income, their homes and for some, even their lives.

These evictions are taking place despite a court order to stop them. The Nigerian government can not let wealthy developers and corrupt officials flout the law. It is time they took measures to halt these illegal evictions and protect the most vulnerable among them.

Sign the petition to ask Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari to end these inhumane, illegal evictions.