Project Affected Persons (PAPs), including homeowners, business owners, community leaders and other lawful occupants of properties along Nigeria’s coastal belt, have called on the Federal Government to suspend enforcement of the proposed 150-metre coastal setback, pending judicial review and broad public consultation.
The affected communities argued that the directive, reportedly attributed to the Surveyor-General of the Federation and justified by reference to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), represents a misinterpretation of international law and a violation of Nigeria’s constitutional and statutory protections for property rights.
While acknowledging Nigeria’s obligations under UNCLOS to protect the marine environment, the PAPs insisted that the convention does not authorise retroactive evictions or blanket demolitions of lawfully developed properties. They instead called for a transparent compensation and resettlement framework for any future coastal management actions, as well as the engagement of independent experts to conduct site-specific environmental and risk assessments rather than imposing a uniform buffer across diverse locations.
Spokesman for the group, Tolu Ademiluyi, stated that UNCLOS does not mandate a 150-metre setback, nor does it require the retroactive demolition of existing structures. “For over 30 years, we have built lives, businesses, schools and places of worship on land acquired legally, developed with permits from state planning authorities and occupied without objection,” he said. “Now, without due process, without compensation, and without scientific justification tailored to our specific locations, we are being told to vacate within a rigid 150-metre line from the high-water mark or face demolition.”
Ademiluyi stated that none of the 320 articles of UNCLOS prescribe a 150-metre coastal setback, require the demolition of existing structures, authorise the retroactive eviction of lawful occupants or override national constitutional protections for property rights.
“What UNCLOS does say, particularly in Articles 192 to 222 under Part XII, is that coastal states like Nigeria have a duty to protect and preserve the marine environment. But this duty must be exercised in accordance with national law, due process and human rights standards,” he said.
He added that Article 206 of UNCLOS requires Environmental Impact Assessments only for planned activities that may cause substantial pollution or harm to the marine environment, not for developments that have existed lawfully for decades. “To invoke UNCLOS as legal authority for mass evictions is legally baseless, misleading and an abuse of international law,” he argued.
According to Ademiluyi, if the Federal Government claims that existing properties now violate a newly introduced “150-metre rule,” it must demonstrate actual environmental harm caused by each structure rather than apply a blanket policy. He said the government must also declare a clear public purpose through a gazetted notice, conduct individual or joint property valuations, pay fair market compensation before taking possession, and provide resettlement alternatives where displacement is unavoidable.
He further noted that under the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), PAP members are entitled to the right to acquire and own immovable property anywhere in the country, and that no property shall be compulsorily acquired except for a public purpose and subject to the prompt payment of compensation. The Constitution, he added, also guarantees the right to a fair hearing, including adequate notice, opportunity to be heard and access to the courts.
“Furthermore, the Land Use Act recognises statutory rights of occupancy, while the Urban and Regional Planning Act provides for development control, but not the retroactive criminalisation of lawful past acts,” Ademiluyi said.
Also speaking, lawyer and estate surveyor, Mr Sola Enitan, described the situation unfolding under the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway project as deeply troubling. “What is unfolding is not lawful acquisition; it is a pattern of coercion, dispossession and disregard for constitutional safeguards,” he said.
Enitan warned against what he described as a dangerous assumption in some official circles that coastal lands, waterfronts or properties near federal roads automatically belong to the Federal Government by virtue of so-called setback laws or undefined federal prerogatives. “That belief is legally wrong,” he stated.
He called for an immediate halt to all ongoing demolitions and land acquisitions connected to the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway that do not comply with constitutional and statutory requirements. He also demanded full disclosure of all acquisition instruments, gazette notices and valuation reports related to the project.
Enitan stressed that infrastructure development must not be pursued at the expense of legality and citizens’ rights. “Nigeria needs infrastructure, roads and coastal connectivity. But no nation develops by breaking its own laws; no government earns legitimacy by dispossessing its own people. No project, however ambitious, is worth the destruction of constitutional rights and human dignity,” he said.
The PAPs reiterated their willingness to engage constructively with government authorities to find balanced solutions that protect both the environment and the rights of lawful property owners, insisting that sustainable development must be anchored on transparency, science, and respect for the rule of law.
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