AFTER almost two years of fruitless wait for the N20 million compensation they were promised by the Federal Government, artists whose studios and performance spaces were demolished at the Artists Village, National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos have gone to seek redress in court. The studios and performance spaces at the National Council for Arts and Culture Artists’ Village were demolished at dawn on January 23, 2016, under the supervision of the ex-General Manager of the National Theatre, Kabiru Yusuf. Apart from destroying property worth millions of naira, a number of the artists were also brutalized by policemen who came to supervise the demolition. One of the artists, sculptor Smart Ovwie, was shot in the leg. In a statement by Kingsley Agubom, Deputy Coordinator, Artists’ Village Network, the artists expressed regrets that Mohammed has reneged on his promises, hence their resort to the court of law.

Source: Nigerian Tribune January 28, 2018 05:26 UTC