Group Criticises Tinubu’s ‘Pro-Rich’ Policies As Homeless Youths Increase Along Lagos Rail Corridor
Youth Rights Group Sounds Alarm Over Homeless and Drug-Addicted Youths Along Oshodi Rail Corridor
March 8, 2026 – News
The Youth Rights Campaign (YRC) has raised concerns about the increasing number of homeless and drug-dependent youths living along the Oshodi rail corridor in Lagos, urging urgent government intervention to rescue and rehabilitate those affected.
In a statement released on March 7, the group said it was deeply disturbed by findings from a viral documentary produced by content creator ‘Life of Teaser’, which exposed the harsh living conditions of thousands of young people occupying spaces along the rail line.
According to the statement, signed by YRC’s National Coordinator Michael Adaramoye and Secretary Francis Nwapa, the documentary revealed that many youths have lived around the rail corridor for years, with some reporting periods of six to nine years. One individual reportedly claimed he had lived there for 26 years, effectively growing up on the streets.
The YRC described the situation as both dangerous and degrading. Many of the youths reportedly sleep under railway platforms, where they are exposed to drug abuse, violence, and exploitation. The group expressed particular concern for vulnerable individuals, such as a sick female drug user living in a predominantly male environment, warning that such conditions increase the risk of severe abuse and trauma.
The organisation attributed the crisis to decades of pro-rich policies and socio-economic failures, which have left many young Nigerians without access to education, employment, or social support. The YRC further criticized the political establishment in Lagos, built by Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for widening inequality and failing to implement comprehensive rehabilitation and reintegration programmes.
“Rather than implementing comprehensive rehabilitation and reintegration programmes, authorities have allegedly allowed many abandoned youths to remain on the streets, where some are reportedly recruited as political thugs during elections,” the statement read.
According to the group, similar communities of homeless youths exist across Lagos, including Agege, Abule-Egba, Ajegunle, Mushin, Apapa, Shomolu, Mile 12, Mile 2, and Orile.
The YRC warned that prolonged neglect of youths could worsen insecurity, citing examples of insurgency, banditry, and militancy in other parts of Nigeria, which have grown out of poverty and social abandonment.
The organisation therefore called on both the Lagos State Government and the federal government to:
- Immediately rescue and rehabilitate homeless youths along the Oshodi rail corridor and other similar areas;
- Establish publicly funded rehabilitation and drug treatment centres;
- Provide free education and skills acquisition programmes for affected youths;
- Create jobs through large-scale public works programmes; and
- Construct public housing and youth shelters to tackle homelessness and prevent the recruitment of vulnerable youths as political thugs.