Yemi Obafemi
Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has condemned the demolition of the Aspamda Market in Lagos, describing it as a punishment that far outweighs any alleged infraction.
In a statement posted on his X handle, Obi said government should not pride itself on being legally correct if its actions are morally wrong, stressing that “justice, to be just, must be tempered with mercy.”
He noted that governance must always balance law with compassion, adding that demolitions such as those in Aspamda Market and elsewhere in the country represent a failure of empathy and justice.
“A week ago, a team of concerned leaders visited the demolished Aspamda Market in Lagos. Since then, I have carefully followed the reactions trailing the demolitions and our visit, and I feel that other extraneous variables are affecting our compassion for each other as Nigerians,” Obi stated.
He recalled an incident in the 1990s when, after squatters occupied his building in the UK, his lawyer advised a legal process rather than arbitrary action, emphasizing that it would have been “unthinkable for the state to simply wake up one morning and demolish people’s houses.”
He wrote: “Those seeking to justify the current demolitions in Aspamda Market Lagos, and similar situations across Nigeria must be reminded that the law is not an end in itself; it is a means to ensure order, peace, and the protection of human dignity.
“When the law becomes an instrument to inflict undeserved pain – enforced without compassion or regard for human welfare – it ceases to serve justice.
“Even if, for the sake of argument, some of the affected traders failed to obtain the proper approvals, which is unlikely, was demolition the only option? If opportunities for regularisation truly existed, as some have argued, why were they not pursued? Does it truly serve justice to destroy billions of naira worth of investments and livelihoods when less destructive remedies could have sufficed?
“It is like punishing a man who stole a bicycle with death instead of imprisonment – a sentence grossly disproportionate to the offence. That is what these demolitions represent: a punishment that far outweighs any alleged infraction.
“My appeal is simple: governance must always balance law with compassion. A government should not pride itself on being legally correct if, in the process, it becomes morally wrong. Justice, to be just, must be tempered with mercy.
“These demolitions are a test of our collective humanity, justice, and compassion.”
