Women from the Ilaje community in Lagos State have threatened to stage nude protests in response to the alleged destruction of their ancestral homes.
On Tuesday, hundreds of demonstrators under the banner of Egbe Omo Ilaje defied heavy rain to march to the Lagos State House of Assembly, Alausa, Ikeja. They called on Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and Speaker Mudashiru Obasa to urgently intervene.
Carrying placards, the protesters accused some traditional rulers of acting as “land grabbers” and masterminding the demolition of Ilaje settlements.
One elderly protester, who identified herself as Ifagbemi, vowed that the women would strip and march on the palaces of the monarchs if their demands were ignored.
“We are the founders of Lagos. We settled in Ebute-Ero, then known as Olobun. If the government fails us, we will stage a nude protest against these monarchs. We want to live peacefully in our communities,” she declared.
President-General of Egbe Omo Ilaje Worldwide, Rafael Irowainu, also accused some monarchs of hiding under President Bola Tinubu’s name to justify the unlawful demolition of homes.
“I’ve never seen anywhere else where royal fathers turn into land grabbers. They claim Tinubu sent them, but that is a lie. Some of them are not even from Lagos—they are from Osun and Ekiti. None of them created Lagos,” he said.
Irowainu warned that demolitions without court orders would worsen insecurity, urging the government to halt the practice and compensate affected families.
“When you drive people from their homes unlawfully, you only create more criminals. The Obas must stop selling our lands,” he added.
Another protester, Wole Adewusi, lamented: “Our wives and children are suffering. Homes are being burnt, landlords rendered homeless. We are calling on Sanwo-Olu to save our souls.”
Similarly, Lagos State Chairman of Egbe Omo Ilaje, Prince Oluwajimusu, described the situation as unjust.
“You cannot write the history of Lagos without Ilaje. What is happening is unethical and unacceptable. By 2027, we will decide our fate—we are not slaves,” he said.
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The protest follows earlier outrage by the group after Ilaje Street in Bariga was renamed after music icon King Sunny Ade, which they condemned as another attempt to erase their heritage.
