The Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has urged the Lagos State government to balance law enforcement with compassion in its ongoing demolition of structures, including the recent clearing of the ASPAMDA Market at the Trade Fair Complex.
Obi, who visited the site of the demolition days earlier, described the destruction of traders’ plazas as a test of the government’s commitment to justice, equity, and human dignity. He stressed that legal justification should never outweigh moral responsibility.
The Lagos State government had defended the exercise, with the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Olumide Oluyinka, explaining that the demolition was technical and not ethnically motivated, contrary to some claims.
In a statement on his X handle on Tuesday, Obi cautioned that the law must not be enforced in a way that causes “undeserved pain” or wipes out livelihoods when less harmful options exist. He cited personal experiences abroad to emphasize that responsible governments prefer lawful, compassionate approaches over abrupt demolitions.
“Those seeking to justify the current demolitions in Aspamda Market Lagos, and similar situations across Nigeria must be reminded that the law is not an end in itself; it is a means to ensure order, peace, and the protection of human dignity,” he said. “When the law becomes an instrument to inflict undeserved pain – enforced without compassion or regard for human welfare – it ceases to serve justice.”
Obi questioned whether demolition was the only option available and likened the act to “punishing a man who stole a bicycle with death instead of imprisonment, a sentence grossly disproportionate to the offence.”
He added, “A government should not pride itself on being legally correct if, in the process, it becomes morally wrong. Justice, to be just, must be tempered with mercy. Power must always be exercised with empathy — for it is in how we treat the vulnerable that the true character of leadership is revealed.”
What you should know
Peter Obi, former Anambra State governor and 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, has consistently advocated for people-centered governance.
His latest statement calls for empathy and fairness in policy enforcement, particularly amid rising concerns over the impact of demolitions on small businesses and livelihoods in Lagos.
