By JKNewsMedia
PLANS HAVE been concluded by communities across Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State to stage a peaceful protest on Thursday, August 6, 2026, to draw attention to what organisers described as a worsening environmental and humanitarian crisis affecting coastal settlements.
JKNewsMedia.com reports that the Coalition of Ilaje Ravaged Communities, with advocacy support from the Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), said the protest, tagged Operation Save Ilaje: Protect Our Coastal Communities from Extinction, will bring together affected residents and members of no fewer than 20 communities.
The communities listed include Ayetoro, Awoye, Mese, Gbagira, Jiringho, Ilowo, Ilepete, Idiogba, Oroto, Alagbon, Erunona, Olotu, Yaye, Womitenren, Ogboti, Lepe, Ehinmore, Abetobo and Abereke.
The coalition said participants would demand urgent and concrete action from the Federal Government and the Ondo State Government to address the impacts of ocean surges, coastal erosion, oil spills and environmental degradation in the area.
The protest will begin at 9:00am on Thursday, August 6, 2026, at the Ilaje Local Government Headquarters in Igbokoda, Ondo State.
The coalition said communities along the Ilaje coastline had for decades watched homes, farmlands, fishing grounds and other sources of livelihood disappear under the combined pressures of rising seas, coastal erosion and pollution.
It added that the situation had become particularly critical in Ayetoro and Abereke, where residents were increasingly confronted with displacement and the loss of their ancestral homes.
The communities said, among others, they are demanding urgent and effective intervention to halt further coastal erosion and sea incursions, construction of scientifically designed and fit for purpose coastal protection infrastructure, comprehensive environmental assessments and clean-up of oil polluted areas, accountability and remediation by companies responsible for environmental damage, adequate compensation and livelihood restoration for affected residents, immediate action to protect fishing grounds, aquatic ecosystems and other community livelihoods, and greater transparency and community participation in all government interventions affecting the Ilaje coastline.
CAPPA said it is inviting the media to cover the protest and engage with community representatives, environmental advocates and other stakeholders on what it described as the urgent need to save Ilaje and protect Nigeria’s vulnerable coastal communities from extinction; urging anyone interested to contact its media officer, Robert Egbe via +2348034354127 or Akingboye Thompson (for the communities) on +2348062387214.
—
