‘We woke to bulldozers’: Nigeria slum clearance leaves thousands homeless

People from the Elechi waterfront community said they were given a seven-day notice before the demolitions. Photograph: Courtesy of Justice and Empowerment Initiative

The bulldozers rolled into Urualla, Port Harcourt, early on 30 January. By the end of the day, hundreds of people were homeless, their belongings scattered and lost, as government clearances of waterfront slums in the southern Nigerian city got under way.

Over six days, the homes of more than 15,000 families in eight slum communities in the Diobu area of the city were destroyed. Another three neighbourhoods are earmarked to be cleared.