Protesters marched against planned forced evictions in Port Harcourt © Amnesty International
By Kathryn Achilles, Nigeria campaigner for Amnesty International
On World Habitat Day earlier this week, a group of non-governmental organisations in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria, arranged to mark the day with a demonstration and march, protesting against plans by the state authorities to forcibly evict over 200,000 people from their homes in informal communities in Port Harcourt’s waterfronts.
However, their plans were disrupted by the arrival of armed police and security officers, and the organisers were forced to abandon the day’s activities because of fears for the safety of participants.
Click on the ipadio player to hear activist Celestine Akpobari describe what happened.
