Residents of Ebute-Metta, Lagos State, are urging the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) to provide compensation for the forced acquisition of their homes for rail infrastructure development that took place in 2018.
In 2019, five families displaced from Adisa Estate, situated along Murtala Muhammed Way in Ebute-Metta, sought legal recourse at the Federal High Court in Lagos.
The homeowners affected include Oba Akinola Ovetade Akinrera, Alhaja Aisha Aminu Gwadabe, Alhaja Sadiat Abduiazeez, Mr. Justin Ajufo, and Mr. Ayodele Joseph Ojo.
On May 9, 2023, Justice Y. Bogoro delivered a ruling stating that the NRC’s acquisition of the properties for the construction of the Ebute-Metta station was in violation of due process.
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The judge highlighted that on October 10, 2018, NRC officials, accompanied by over 100 armed policemen, took possession of the homes without any prior notice, violating the applicants’ constitutional rights as outlined in Sections 43 and 44(1)(a) of the 1999 Constitution and Article 14 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
Although the Federal Ministry of Transportation, through the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), had tasked Dupe Longe and Associates with assessing and compensating 19 affected property owners, five of the claimants initially declined to accept their compensation. Government failed to rescue schoolgirls; they negotiated with us – Bandits disclose in new video.
NRC spokesperson, Adeyinka Aderibigbe, mentioned that two of the five homeowners have since expressed their willingness to accept their compensation.
Nevertheless, the legal representative for the homeowners, Akeem Aponmade of A.O Aponmade and Co., maintained that his clients are pursuing the full compensation they are entitled to.
In a letter dated October 8, 2025, which was received by the NRC on October 9, 2025, the attorney formally requested payment of N154.25 million.