Tension in Surulere as residents protest construction of cemetery

…Vow to march to Alausa, allege defiance of authorities order

By Evelyn Usman

LAGOS — Tension has gripped the Natufe/Animashaun Community successful Surulere, Lagos, arsenic residents implicit the play trooped retired successful protestation against the operation of a cemetery successful their neighbourhood.

The protesters described the task arsenic illegal, life-threatening, and environmentally dangerous, insisting that it would not beryllium allowed to proceed.

Armed with placards bearing inscriptions specified arsenic “No to cemetery successful Nature Estate,” “Don’t enforce cemetery threat,” “Don’t crook our homes into a graveyard zone,” and “Say nary to nightmares and scary scenes,” the aggravated residents chanted, “No to cemetery! We don’t privation cemetery!”

They vowed to prolong their absorption and to march to the Lagos State Government House successful Alausa, Ikeja, this week to request the government’s urgent intervention.

According to the protesters, the obstruction surrounding the projected tract had been marked doubly by the Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority (LASPPPA) with reddish inscriptions dated June 16 and June 26, 2025, yet the developer allegedly continued to mobilise workers to the site.

Vanguard observed that the property, located straight beneath a high-tension powerfulness line, had remained undeveloped for years owed to its unsuitability for residential oregon commercialized use.

Chairperson of the Natufe/Animashaun Community Development Association (CDA), Alhaja Aminat Omolabake Braimoh, said the determination to tract a cemetery wrong a densely populated country had thrown residents into panic and confusion.

“One of the developers was adjacent saying, ‘If you’re not careful, we tin revoke your C of O, adjacent down the school, and unopen the church.’ You tin spot they are hell-bent connected going up with this project,” she alleged.

“This is simply a menace to beingness and sanity. The tract sits straight other a schoolhouse and wrong a residential area. Each clip it rains, the schoolhouse gets flooded, and the h2o seeps into our boreholes. Now ideate what volition hap erstwhile dormant bodies are buried determination — our drinking h2o volition beryllium contaminated.”

She appealed to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the Commissioner for Information, the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, and the section authorities authorities to measurement successful earlier the concern escalates.

“We are not against development,” she added. “But this is not improvement — it is decease beside our homes.”

The residents besides expressed vexation that Governor Sanwo-Olu had personally stopped the task connected astatine slightest 3 occasions, questioning however 1 idiosyncratic could allegedly flout aggregate authorities orders.

Another resident, Mr. Olanrewaju Olaniran of Chief Nature Street, said the assemblage had been battling the contented since 2020.

“We stood up against it immediately. We wrote to astir 11 ministries, including Physical Planning and Environment. How tin anyone bring a cemetery to a waterlogged area? If you hide idiosyncratic here, it could pb to an epidemic. We are surrounded by canals and person ever managed to lick our problems ourselves, but they privation to unit this cemetery connected us. We are saying no,” helium declared.

Also speaking, Mr. Seyi Oluwafolarin, different resident, described the task arsenic some amerciable and suspicious.

“It looks similar immoderate radical person been settled elsewhere to let this to happen. How tin idiosyncratic conscionable travel and commencement gathering a cemetery successful the mediate of a residential property wherever radical live, work, and rise children?” helium queried.

For Mr. Devline Chigbo, Chairman of the Nature CDA, the projected cemetery poses aggregate risks — including h2o contamination, accrued crime, and intelligence distress.

“This onshore tin beryllium enactment to amended usage — a mill oregon manufacture that volition make jobs and bring development, not a cemetery that volition bring fearfulness and death,” helium said.

Another protester, who identified himself simply arsenic Nedu, said the residents’ adjacent measurement would beryllium to instrumentality their protestation to Alausa.

“We are not stopping here. This week, ...