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 the persistent and targeted demolition of shops, markets, and properties owned by Igbo traders and investors in Lagos State.
Addressing journalists in Umuahia, Abia State, the National President of ASITU, Chief Emeka Diwe, said the organisation was compelled to seek international intervention after several appeals to relevant Nigerian authorities yielded no positive response.
According to Chief Diwe, the demolitions — often carried out under the guise of urban renewal or environmental enforcement — have disproportionately affected Igbo business owners, resulting in huge economic losses and widespread displacement.
>We can no longer fold our hands while our people’s hard-earned investments are being destroyed under questionable circumstances. The pattern of these demolitions, the timing, and the locations all point to a deliberate attempt to economically marginalize the Igbo people living and trading in Lagos,” Diwe said.
He noted that ASITU had documented several instances where entire markets predominantly occupied by Igbo traders were razed or pulled down without adequate notice, compensation, or relocation plans, leaving thousands of families stranded.
>Our petitions to Nigerian authorities, including the Lagos State Government and the National Human Rights Commission, have been ignored. We have, therefore, taken the matter to the United Nations Human Rights Council, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the ECOWAS Court of Justice,” he stated.
Chief Diwe stressed that ASITU’s action was not politically motivated but aimed at defending the fundamental rights of Nigerians, particularly the right to own property and to pursue lawful economic activities without discrimination.
>The Igbo are not against development. We support modernization and urban renewal. But any development that destroys livelihoods, targets specific groups, and violates human rights cannot be justified,” he added.
He urged international bodies to investigate the alleged pattern of discrimination and economic suppression, and to compel Nigerian authorities to ensure justice, restitution, and protection for affected traders.
ASITU also called on the Federal Government to promote equity and fairness in the treatment of all Nigerian citizens regardless of ethnic background, warning that continued silence on such issues could further deepen national divisions.
