Fewer than 1,000 residents and property owners affected by the Ibadan Circular Road (ICR) project staged a peaceful protest on Sunday, March 17, to draw the government’s attention to their situation.
The protesters, including women and children, carried placards and leaves, crying out and urging the government to halt action on the proposed 500-meter corridor to be acquired.
The state government had commenced the demolition of houses within the ICR corridor the previous week Tuesday.
Approximately 500 structures, including residential houses, churches, and mosques, have been demolished, with over 1,000 additional properties marked for demolition within Ona Ara and Oluyole local government areas.
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The demolition exercise is set to impact about 12 villages and communities, including Fashade, Aba Osho, Igbalefa, Adigbe, Badeku, Akamo, Alase, Ojoku, Dare, Isase, Oleke Meji, and Ogido across the two council areas.
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The placards carried by the protesters bore messages such as “Governor Seyi Makinde, please come to our aid”, “No more Circular corridor”, “Mr. Governor don’t kill us”, “Circular Road Corridor is a massacre”, “No more 150 meters set back”, “Let’s have peace of mind”, and “Ijoba ewo wa laanu se” (meaning “Government, have mercy on us”).
Details are expected to be provided shortly.