Maroko was a community in

Eti-Osa Eti-Osa is a Local Government Area of Lagos State in Nigeria. Lagos State Government administers the council area as Ikoyi-Obalende LCDA, Eti-Osa East, and Iru Victoria Island LCDA. Within Eti-Osa are several important areas of Lagos State, in ...

Lagos State Lagos State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Èkó) is a state in southwestern Nigeria. Of the 36 states, it is both the most populous and smallest in area. Bounded to the south by the Bight of Benin and to the west by the international border with Ben ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. It was adjacent to

Ikoyi Ikoyi is the most affluent neighborhood of Lagos, located in Eti-Osa Local Government Area. It lies to the northeast of Obalende and adjoins Lagos Island to the west, and at the edge of the Lagos Lagoon. Popular with the extreme upper class res ...

and east of

Victoria Island Victoria Island ( ikt, Kitlineq, italic=yes) is a large island in the Arctic Archipelago that straddles the boundary between Nunavut and the Northwest Territories of Canada. It is the List of islands by area, eighth-largest island in the world, ...

. It was a low-income area that attracted a lot of migrants since it was in close proximity to economically robust areas. Flooding and sand-filling affected Maroko during its life.SERAC files Maroko Communication before the African Commission
"

Social and Economic Rights Action Centre Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives from ...

. 19 December 2008. Retrieved on 1 September 2011.

Demolition

In July 1990, Maroko settlement was made up of Ijaw and Ilaje people amongst other yorubas. The Lagos State government, under civilian governor Alhaji Lateef Jakande attempt the first eviction of the settlement in 1980 which lead to kiosk where government workers lost their lives. The military administrator

Raji Rasaki Raji Alagbe Rasaki (born 7 January 1947) is a retired brigadier general in the Nigerian Army who served as military governor of Ogun State, Ondo State, and Lagos State between 1986 and 1991 during the military administration of General Ibrahim B ...

, evicted the residents of Maroko and demolished the community. The government said that Maroko was below sea level and needed to be filled in with sand and that Maroko needed infrastructure improvements.Megbolu, Chinazor.
Nigeria: Groups Seek Justice for Maroko Evictees
" ''

This Day ''This Day'' is a Nigerian national newspaper. It is the flagship newspaper of Leaders & Company Ltd and was first published on 22 January 1995. It has its headquarters in Apapa, Lagos State. Founded by Nduka Obaigbena, the Chairman & Editor-i ...

''. 23 September 2009. Retrieved on 1 September 2011. About 300,000 people lost their houses.Agbola and Jinadu 272. It was one of the largest forced evictions in Nigerian history. The former residents tried to get compensation in the Nigerian court system. In December 2008, the

(SERAC) and

Debevoise & Plimpton Debevoise & Plimpton LLP (often shortened to Debevoise) is an international law firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1931 by Harvard Law School alumnus Eli Whitney Debevoise and Oxford-trained William Stevenson, the firm was origi ...

, filed a communication with the

African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) is a quasi-judicial body tasked with promoting and protecting human rights and collective (peoples') rights throughout the African continent as well as interpreting the African Chart ...

, stating that the eviction violated the

African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (also known as the Banjul Charter) is an international human rights instrument that is intended to promote and protect human rights and basic freedoms in the African continent. It emerged under ...

In media

''The Beatification of Area Boy'' (1995), a play written by

Wole Soyinka Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka (Yoruba: ''Akínwándé Olúwọlé Babátúndé Ṣóyíinká''; born 13 July 1934), known as Wole Soyinka (), is a Nigerian playwright, novelist, poet, and essayist in the English language. He was awarded t ...

, has its plot woven around the infamous eviction of Maroko residents. Maroko is a setting in the book ''

Graceland Graceland is a mansion on a estate in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, which was once owned by rock and roll icon Elvis Presley. His daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, inherited Graceland after his death in 1977. Graceland is located at 3764 Elv ...

'' (2004) by Chris Abani.

References

External links

* Agbola, Tunde and A. M. Jinadu.
Forced Eviction and Forced Relocation in Nigeria: the Experience of those evicted from Maroko in 1990
"
Archive
''

Environment and Urbanization ''Environment & Urbanization'' is a biannual peer-reviewed academic journal covering urban and environmental studies. It is published by SAGE Publications and was established in 1989. Each issue of the journal focuses on a particular theme. Abst ...

'', 1997 9: 271 {{coord missing, Nigeria Populated places in Lagos State Eti-Osa History of Lagos