CSOs condemn eviction threat on Rivers’ communities, say 60,000 may become homeless

A group of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) has jointly condemned an alleged eviction notice by the Rivers State government to waterfront communities in the Diablo axis of Port Harcourt in the state capital.

The CSOs in a jointly signed communique decried the notice, stating that it was “unlawful, unconstitutional, and counter-productive”.

The communique was jointly signed by Justice & Empowerment Initiatives (JEI), Nigerian Slum/Informal Settlement Federation, Social Action, Collaborative Media Advocacy Platform (CMAP), Centre for Environment, Human Rights, and Development (CEHRD), and Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth.

It was stated that on 19 January, 2022, the Rivers State government Task force visited several waterfront communities in the Diobu axis of Port Harcourt, arbitrarily marked homes for demolition and told residents they should vacate within seven days, which was by 26 January, 2022.

The group recalled that the state governor, Nyeson Wike had threatened, in his 2022 New Year address to the state, a crackdown on ‘identified criminal hideouts’ in Port Harcourt Township and the Illoabuchi axis of Diobu.

The group argued that the threat had instilled fear in residents of the troubled communities, especially those “that have seen previous administrations use fearmongering and smear campaigns to justify forced evictions of waterfront communities like Agip (2004/05), Njemanze (2009), and Abonnema (2012).

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The CSOs warned that if the government proceeded with its threat to demolish the waterfront communities, an estimated 60,000 persons may be rendered homeless.

They also added that such act may result in loss of livelihoods, homelessness, displacement and hardship for residents of the communities.

The communique reads partly, “We, the undersigned communities and members of civil society, decry this unlawful and callous threat and call for the Rivers state government to seriously reconsider its plans before it takes irreversible action that violates the fundamental human rights of 60,000 persons and undermines the security and long-term development goals of all residents of Port Harcourt.

“Any person that has witnessed the horrors of forced eviction, where persons are thrown out of their homes and have their livelihoods and communities destroyed overnight, cannot believe this is the path to the security and development of our society. Studies have shown the terrible long-term impacts of forced evictions on the incomes, health and education of evictees.

“Meanwhile, the reality is that the demolitions being threatened do not target specific criminals or criminal hideouts; instead, they are a pretext for evicting thousands of innocent children, women, men, and elderly persons who are employed in legitimate businesses through which they eke out modest livings, and from which they pay their children’s school fees and government taxes. Such persons live in Port Harcourt’s informal settlements because of the lack of affordable housing in the formal sector, and they make positive contributions every day to the city’s economy.”

The group assured that the communities under threat are ready to work with the government in any legitimate law enforcement approach to resolving security concerns and rooting out criminals who may be hiding in different corners of the city.

“The law does not authorize mass evictions nor does it allow demolition of properties based on feeble suspicion. Rather, any person suspected of a crime is to be arrested, and found guilty in line with the right to fair hearing protected by section 36 af the 1999 constitution, whereafter the person may face a term of imprisonment or other penalty provided by law. Forced evictions as collective punishment are unlawful, unconstitutional, and counter-productive – they do not make our cities safer,” it added.

By Oluwatobi Odeyinka

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