Emmanuel Akimotu

Bulldozers have been crushing thousands of homes and businesses over the last month at a waterfront community called Oworonshoki.

Residents have been searching the rubble for the few belongings that they can salvage.

This morning, police and armed men came and torched many of the destroyed structures and even burnt heaps of belongings that the residents had scraped together.

These residents lived on what the government and a local traditional ruler here considers prime real estate.

The community had taken them to court and had won injunctions preventing any demolitions without first being consulted and rehoused.

But the demolitions continued regardless.

Emmanuel Akimotu, NPR News, Lagos.