A wave of shock and grief swept over the iconic Lagos Computer Village, Ikeja early Sunday morning as the bustling Police Officers’ Wives Association (POWA) Shopping Complex succumbed to the wrecking ball.
Under the watch of armed security personnel, the once vibrant hub of commerce was reduced to a pile of rubble before break of dawn.
Reports say the demolition began silently around midnight, catching traders entirely off guard. Chairman of the Computer Dealer Association, Tayo Shittu, described the scene as one of utter devastation. “We woke up to find our livelihoods in ruins,” he lamented, his voice echoing the anguish of hundreds of traders.
However, the Lagos State government, through a statement on its official X handle, @followlasg, on Sunday evening, said the government “has nothing to do with the demolition at the Computer Village in Ikeja. The structure is owned by the Police Officers Wives Association, which ordered its demolition.”
The statement issued by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, further read: “Those circulating the fake news that Lagos State Government is demolishing Computer Village are opportunistic ethnic chauvinists who will always relish in vacuous propaganda that can fuel their fiendish mission; they will always fail in dividing Lagosians.”
The police authorities had insisted that the complex would be demolished, while it noted that traders were served notice to evacuate their wares.
Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, in a statement on Saturday, said despite frivolous claims and unsubstantiated protests, and media blackmail by the affected traders, the demolition of the complex must go on.
He stated that this was “to enable the Force to commence immediate construction of a modern shopping complex on the same land.
“The decision to demolish and reconstruct the complex was predicated on the fact that professional opinion indicates that the structure as it is, constitutes a looming environmental hazard.
“The site is prone to flooding and may be susceptible to sudden collapse, hence the need for immediate landscaping and reconstruction”.