A coalition of civil society organisations on Wednesday staged a protest at the Lagos office of the Federal Ministry of Works, accusing Minister Dave Umahi of orchestrating a self-serving realignment of the Lagos coastal road corridor that has allegedly wiped out over $250 million in foreign direct investment (FDI) and led to the alleged abduction of private citizens using soldiers.
The protesters, bearing placards and chanting slogans, described the sudden realignment of the coastal road project as “inhuman, fraudulent and self-serving.”
Some of their placards read: “We embrace coastal roads but reject the fraud weaved in it; Umahi, Produce Obanla you abducted with soldiers from the site.”
The protesters insisted that the Minister must be held accountable for the devastation the new route has caused to private investments and communities.
According to the group, over $250million in Foreign Direct Investment was wiped in the sudden realignment without due compensation.
They said the realignment has affected numerous landowners, businesses, and investors, particularly Diaspora Nigerians, who had invested in properties along the originally approved route.
“This act by the Minister of Works will result in loss of investors’ confidence, especially for Diaspora Nigerians who are looking to invest back home but may be discouraged by what they see happening to those who have invested,” the group declared during the protest.
The activists further alleged that some ministry officials extorted money from property owners in exchange for diverting the road’s path away from their land, thereby pushing the burden onto other unsuspecting land and homeowners.
But the allegations didn’t end at financial sabotage. The coalition dropped even more disturbing claims, accusing Minister Umahi of using soldiers to intimidate, harass, and abduct individuals who resist the government’s land takeover.
They cited the case of one Mr. Ola Obanla, whom they alleged was abducted by soldiers acting on Umahi’s orders at a construction site belonging to WinHomes.
Obanla, according to the activists, was picked up after workers at the site were warned not to return.
“Since then, Obanla is not yet seen by his family or co-workers who said they have written to the military commands around but he has not been released as yet,” the group stated, raising concerns over the potential for enforced disappearances.
They condemned what they called the militarisation of a civilian project and warned the Nigerian Army against allowing its personnel to be used as political thugs for private vendettas.
“The activists condemned Umahi for using the military to facilitate disappearance of people who disagree with his alleged arbitrariness. They also tasked the Nigeria Military to withdraw soldiers from Umahi over his abuse of men in uniform,” the statement read.
All efforts by SaharaReporters to obtain a response from the Minister’s Special Adviser, Uchenna Orji, were unsuccessful. She neither answered multiple phone calls nor replied to messages seeking her comment on the allegations.
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