A FRESH assessment of public reactions to recent demolition exercises in Lagos has found that the activities have intensified resentment toward the state government and reinforced perceptions of a growing divide between wealthy and low-income residents.

The findings are contained in a new sentiment and field study by SBM Intelligence, which examined the aftermath of January demolitions in Makoko, Oworonshoki and surrounding waterfront and inland communities in Nigeria’s economic capital.

Enitled ‘A Report on the Sentiment Following the Makoko Demolitions,’ the study combines field interviews with affected residents and a digital analysis of online conversations to gauge public opinion on the government’s actions.

Based on a structured survey of 100 residents and an analysis of about 1,000 public comments, the report found that 82 percent of the discourse surrounding the demolitions was negative. Only 13 percent of respondents endorsed the government’s safety-based justification, while five percent expressed neutral views. The report described the backlash as evidence of a deep collapse in public trust rather than routine resistance to urban regulation.

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According to the study, critics of the demolitions were not rejecting urban planning in principle. Instead, opposition was rooted in perceptions of selective enforcement, unfulfilled assurances and a development model that favours elite interests over the welfare of vulnerable communities.

The tone of public response, the report noted, was overwhelmingly hostile, with anger and distrust dominating both in-person interviews and online discussions following the clearances.

At the heart of the backlash was what the report characterises as a perceived ‘breach of contract’ between residents and the state. Although the government cited safety concern, particularly the need to maintain safe distances from high-tension power lines, many residents said they were instructed to observe a 30-metre setback, only for demolition teams to enforce boundaries well beyond that limit.

This inconsistency, the report said, had become emblematic of bad faith, undermining official explanations and strengthening suspicions that the rules were altered during the operation.

Public outrage intensified further as the demolitions progressed, following allegations of excessive force, including claims that tear gas was deployed in residential areas, reportedly resulting in the deaths of infants.

The report identified this episode as a critical turning point, after which the public narrative shifted from urban planning enforcement to accusations of state brutality. Interviews and online commentary increasingly portrayed the demolitions as cruel and punitive rather than corrective or safety-oriented.