Man Threatens Ethnic Cleansing After Lagos Demolitions Spark Online Reactions

A Facebook user, Kenneth Maduabuchi, has stirred outrage after threatening to carry out mass killings of Yoruba people in reaction to the recent demolition of 19 buildings at the Trade Fair Complex in Ojo, Lagos, by the Lagos State Government.

Maduabuchi, identified as the CEO of Electronics System Design & Manufacturing, Skill Development and resident in Abuja, made the inflammatory post under a thread showing the demolition exercise. He wrote: “This hatred is what made me to leave Lagos, because I will kill Yoruba, and it will not be one person alone, it will be in group.”

Ironically, a majority of Yoruba commenters on the same NewsmakersNG Facebook thread condemned the government’s enforcement action, while many Igbo users expressed support for the demolition, stressing that it had no ethnic undertone.

The demolition, which took place on September 25, was carried out under heavy security at New Mandela Plaza within the Trade Fair Complex. Armed operatives from the Lagos State Task Force, the Rapid Response Squad, and other tactical teams cordoned off the area as bulldozers moved in. Traders and visitors were barred from accessing the site.

According to government officials, the affected structures were illegal developments, lacking statutory approvals, and built on waterways, setback zones, and drainage alignments. The coordinated operation involved the Ministry of Physical Planning, Lagos State Building Control Agency, Lagos Urban Renewal Agency, Physical Planning Permit Authority, Office of Infrastructure, and lawmakers from the Lagos State House of Assembly.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s aide on new media, Jubril Gawat, confirmed the action, insisting it was in line with the government’s zero tolerance for illegal structures.

The latest demolitions follow similar exercises in Banana Island and Oworonshoki, where residents had blocked the Third Mainland Bridge in protest. Unlike those cases, the Trade Fair demolitions have now triggered an online firestorm, drawing ethnic colouration after Maduabuchi’s alarming threat.