Despite heavy downpour on Saturday morning, Residents of Natufe Estate in Surulere, Lagos and its surrounding communities on Saturday, despite the heavy downpour gathered in protest against the controversial construction of a cemetery in their neighbourhood.
The residents who gathered around Babs Animashaun Road near the Bode Thomas traffic junction, the protest site while wielding their placards and chanting slogans like “No Cemetery Here,” expressed outrage over what they described as an “unauthorised and unsafe” development project.
Alhaja Omolabake Aminat Braimoh, Chairperson of the Natufe/Animashaun Community Development Association (CDA) who led the protest revealed that the developer behind the project had previously attempted to establish the cemetery over two years ago but was stopped by the community. She said the renewed construction activities resumed discreetly during the recent Eid holiday caught residents off guard.
“We opposed this project before, and now he’s back, working aggressively, day and night. It’s unacceptable,” Braimoh said. “We understand there are plans for both an adult and a children’s cemetery here. This is a purely residential zone with schools, churches, and families. We don’t have access to treated pipe-borne water—just boreholes. Burying bodies here could contaminate our groundwater.”
She added that the community had written to the Chairman of the Coker-Aguda Local Council Development Area (LCDA) and would escalate their petition to other relevant government authorities.
“We’re not taking the law into our hands. We’re asking the authorities to intervene and stop this development before it creates irreversible damage,” she stated.
Former CDA Chairman, Mr. Olarenwaju Olaniyan, echoed the sentiments. He recalled how the community previously halted the same developer, Mr. Olumide Amure, through petitions and government intervention.
“We stopped him once. Now he’s back, claiming to have obtained permission. I don’t believe Governor Sanwo-Olu would approve such a thing in a residential area,” Olaniyan said. “We’ve lived here for decades—some residents are in their 80s. Our water is from boreholes. The moment burials begin, our water and soil are at risk of contamination.”
Olaniyan described the project as a “death sentence” for the community, urging Mr. Amure to pursue more community-friendly developments.
“You don’t even live here. You bought this land recently and now want to bring a cemetery into our lives? We’re pleading with you—don’t destroy this place. Do something that improves the neighbourhood,” he said.
He noted that during his tenure, the CDA had filed 11 petitions against the initial cemetery proposal, and similar actions would be taken again.
Adding his voice, the Councilor representing Natufe/Animashaun Ward at the local council said he had not been informed of any official approval for the cemetery project.
“Locating a burial ground in this area is not appropriate. The residents have expressed their disapproval, and as their representative, I will forward their concerns to the relevant authorities,” he assured.
Efforts to get a response from the developer yielded little result. When contacted, Mr. Olumide Amure declined immediate comment and requested time to prepare a formal reply. Although he was informed that the story would be delayed until Sunday afternoon to accommodate his input, he did not respond as of 3 p.m. on Sunday. A follow-up message sent to his phone remained unanswered.
As tension continues to rise, residents have vowed to use every legal and civic avenue to prevent the establishment of the cemetery, insisting that the wellbeing of the community must come first.
