Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
Human rights lawyer and activist Deji Adeyanju has formally called on President Bola Tinubu to declare a state of emergency in Nigeria's housing sector, warning that the country's rental market has degenerated into a predatory system that is stripping millions of citizens of their dignity and pushing them deeper into poverty. In an open letter dated Monday, July 27, 2026, addressed to the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Adeyanju argued that the worsening housing crisis in major cities such as Abuja and Lagos has become a constitutional and human rights emergency requiring urgent executive intervention.
The letter, titled "Declaration of a State of Emergency on the Housing and Rental Crisis in Nigeria: A Demand for Immediate Constitutional Intervention, Inclusive Urban Renewal," lamented the negative impact of high rents imposed by landlords on the well-being of ordinary Nigerians. Adeyanju said he was writing not only as a legal practitioner but as an activist who has watched what he described as "the silent, agonizing erosion of human dignity" across Nigerian cities. He stressed that shelter has become a commodity reserved for the highest bidder rather than the basic right it ought to be, insisting that "shelter is not a luxury product" but a core responsibility of government.
Drawing attention to the 1999 Constitution, Adeyanju cited Section 14(2)(b), which explicitly mandates that "the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government". He further referenced Sections 16(1)(b) and 16(2)(d) within the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy, which bind the Nigerian state to direct its policy toward ensuring that "suitable and adequate shelter are provided for all citizens" and that "the economic system is not operated in such a manner as to permit the concentration of wealth or the means of production and exchange in the hands of few individuals or of a group". "When shelter becomes an instrument of extortion, the government abdicates its primary purpose," Adeyanju stated.
The activist also invoked Nigeria's obligations under international law, specifically Article 11(1) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, to which Nigeria is a signatory. He noted that adequate housing is internationally recognised as a fundamental component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and cited repeated positions of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing, stressing that housing must be treated as "a social good, not a speculative financial asset".
Describing conditions on the ground, Adeyanju painted a grim picture of the rental markets in Abuja and Lagos, which he said had become lawless and exploitative. He detailed a pattern of tenants being forced to pay two to three years of rent upfront, alongside outrageous and arbitrary charges imposed by landlords and unregulated estate agents. Among the exploitative fees he listed were agency fees exceeding 10 to 20 percent merely for being introduced to properties; so-called legal fees of up to 15 percent charged for generic template documents that no enrolled lawyer ever prepared; unregulated service charges that frequently exceed the annual rent itself without transparent accounting; and arbitrary caution fees that are rarely refunded upon the termination of tenancies, effectively serving as an illegal surcharge. "By bypassing qualified legal practitioners and downloading template forms, they exploit citizens for professional work that was never actually performed," he said.
Adeyanju warned that unchecked urban renewal risks becoming indistinguishable from gentrification, arguing that any development plan must still allow artisans, civil servants, and ordinary workers to live near their livelihoods. "A city cannot function without its artisans, its civil servants, its remote workers, and even its unemployed citizens seeking opportunity. They build our infrastructure, run our administrative engines, power our informal economy, and sustain urban productivity," he wrote. "When urban renewal simply translates to gentrification, mass evictions, and pricing out the essential workforce, it ceases to be 'development' – it becomes social violence," he added.
The letter set out six specific demands for immediate action. Adeyanju called on the President to formally declare a state of emergency on housing and urban tenancy, and to constitute a presidential taskforce led by the Minister of Housing and Urban Development with a 90-day mandate to draft a national housing and tenancy policy and, if necessary, send an executive bill on fair rent standards to the National Assembly. He urged that all federal housing and urban renewal schemes carry mandatory quotas for low- and middle-income housing.
On fees, Adeyanju demanded that combined agency and legal charges be capped at 7.5 percent of annual rent, with proof required that any legal fee was tied to work by a lawyer enrolled at the Supreme Court, and that service charges be capped at 5 percent of annual rent and made fully auditable. He further demanded that advance rent be limited to a maximum of one year, moving progressively toward monthly rent payment models, and that caution fees be banned outright, with any unrefunded deposit lacking audited proof of damage treated as a legal offence. On enforcement, he called for a digital tenant reporting platform backed by an ombudsman and rapid-response desk, alongside civil fines, criminal sanctions, and professional disqualification for landlords and agents found in violation. He also demanded an expansion of low-cost public housing through social investment, tax credits, and public-private partnerships, with affordability measured against the real minimum wage rather than nominal market benchmarks. Adeyanju pointed to Ghana's Rent Act, which imposes statutory limits on advance rent and is backed by an active enforcement body, as a model Nigeria should draw from.
The lawyer's intervention comes amid a broader housing crisis in Nigeria, where the housing deficit is estimated by stakeholders at over 28 million units and continues to widen amid rising inflation, soaring building material costs, and limited access to affordable mortgage systems. Rent increases ranging between 30 and 70 percent have reportedly become common across major cities, placing severe financial strain on citizens and widening social inequality. For many workers, the situation has turned housing into a luxury rather than a basic necessity, with rents rising far beyond what the average salary can sustain. The Housing Development Advocacy Network had earlier in January 2026 called on the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency on housing over rising rents.
Adeyanju warned that without decisive intervention, the housing crisis would continue to deepen economic hardship and social inequality across the country. He argued that the current system would trap citizens in poverty, deepen corruption, and push families into informal settlements. As of Tuesday, July 28, 2026, the Presidency had not issued an official response to Adeyanju's letter. However, the letter has added to growing pressure on the Tinubu administration to address the escalating cost of living and the housing affordability crisis that has left millions of Nigerians struggling to secure decent shelter. For the millions of Nigerians who continue to grapple with exorbitant rents and exploitative practices, Adeyanju's call for a state of emergency represents a demand for urgent relief and a recognition that housing, in its essence, is a fundamental human right that no government can afford to ignore.
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