The Lagos State Government has shut down a construction site designated for a proposed cemetery in the Bode Thomas area of Surulere, after residents of the Natufe/Animashaun community protested against the project, citing environmental and health hazards.
Despite the heavy rainfall, residents on Saturday morning staged a peaceful protest to oppose what they described as an “unsafe and unhealthy” development in their neighbourhood.
They warned that building a cemetery so close to homes, schools, and churches could contaminate their borehole water supply and endanger public health.
Carrying placards with inscriptions like “No Cemetery in Our Community,” the demonstrators accused the site developer, identified as Olumide Amure, of disregarding earlier objections and secretly resuming work without concern for residents’ welfare.
Reacting to the protest, Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, confirmed that the government had acted swiftly to intervene.
“The burial ground site has been sealed, and no such project will be developed there. The people need not worry,” Omotoso stated in a release on Saturday.
Community leaders said this was not the first attempt to establish a burial ground in the area.
Chairperson of the Natufe/Animashaun Community Development Association, Mrs. Omolabake Braimohrecalled that residents had previously resisted a similar proposal two years ago.
“The developer tried it before, and we opposed it. Now he has resumed work, building day and night. We heard he wants to create two cemeteries; one for adults here and another for children nearby. We are not using pipe-borne water; our boreholes are our only source, and this project will contaminate it,” she said.
Braimoh added that the CDA had already petitioned the Coker-Aguda Local Council Development Area and would send more letters to relevant state agencies to ensure the project remains permanently stopped.
Also speaking, former CDA chairman Mr. Olanrewaju Olaniyan said the community had previously taken similar action against the same developer.
“During my tenure, this same developer was stopped after we took the matter from the local government to the state level. We have all the documents. I don’t believe Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu would approve such a project,” Olaniyan said.
He further warned that siting a cemetery in a crowded residential area would expose residents to serious health risks.
“Once burials begin here, the groundwater will be polluted, and that will affect everyone. This is not development, it’s an invitation to disaster. The community will resist it again,” he added.
When contacted, Mr. Amure, the developer, declined to comment immediately and had yet to respond to follow-up messages at the time of filing this report.
Government officials have, however, confirmed that the site will remain sealed while investigations continue, reaffirming that no cemetery will be permitted within the residential neighbourhood.
