“We’re Sleeping Outside Now” — Displaced Iddo Bridge Residents Cry Out for Help

Dozens of traders and families who lived and worked under the Iddo Bridge in Lagos are now stranded and desperate, following the demolition of their makeshift homes and shops by federal authorities.

The demolition, which took place over the weekend, was carried out on the orders of the Minister of Works, Senator Dave Umahi, who cited structural concerns and public safety as the reasons for the exercise.

But for the people whose lives have been upended, the sudden action has left them with nothing—no homes, no livelihoods, and no clear answers on what comes next.

“I don’t know where to go from here,” said Mrs. Mojisola Balogun, a mother of three who sold second-hand household items. “This wasn’t just my shop—it was our home. My children and I are now sleeping on the bare ground.”

Many of those affected said they had been paying rent—sometimes as much as ₦300,000 annually—to individuals who posed as landlords or ‘caretakers’ of the space beneath the bridge.

“We were paying rent,” said Peter Nnadozie, a spare parts dealer. “I just renewed mine in January. Yes, it was under the bridge, but it was what we had. They gave us only seven days’ notice. That’s not enough time to move your whole life. At least the government should have given us somewhere else to go.”

For food vendor Ngozi Ukpabio, the heartbreak goes beyond losing her stall.

“Every day I used the little I made to feed my kids and send them to school,” she said, fighting back tears. “Now, everything is gone. We are pleading with the government—please, just give us a place to stay or somewhere small to start over.”