Over 200 residents of Natufe Estate and its environs, off Babs Animashaun Road in the Bode Thomas area of Lagos, defied heavy rainfall on Saturday to protest the alleged construction of a cemetery within their residential community.
Chanting solidarity songs such as “We don’t want cemetery!” and “Residential areas are for the living!”, the protesters marched to the construction site, carrying placards with inscriptions like “Give us a recreational park, not a cemetery” and “Our children need protection, not disease.”
The protesters described the ongoing project—located between residential buildings, a school, and a church, just a few meters from the Bode Thomas traffic light—as a threat to public health and the community’s peace of mind.
Chairperson of the Natufe/Animashaun Community Development Association (CDA), Alhaja Omolabake Braimoh, said the residents were compelled to protest after noticing renewed construction activity on the disputed site.
She explained that the issue dates back to 2020 when residents first opposed the project.
According to her, the community had visited the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development twice over the matter.
They were invited for a meeting that was later rescheduled, only to discover that another group had allegedly been hired to impersonate the real community members during the ministry’s session.
Another resident, Mrs. Yinka Iluyomade, who has lived in the area for 44 years, expressed deep concern over what she described as a “conspiracy” between the developer and certain ministry officials.
Former CDA chairman, Mr. Olanrewaju Olaniyan, recalled that the developer, Mr. Olamide Amure, had attempted the same project during his tenure but was stopped by the community.
He expressed disbelief that approval could have been granted this time, stating that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu would not support such a move in a densely populated residential zone.
As of the time of filing this report, all efforts to reach Mr. Olamide Amure, the alleged developer of the cemetery, for his reaction were unsuccessful.
Reporting by Mary Fatile