compensation

Vietnam: Gia Binh Airport land clearance, construction and airport city plans

Rose Bridger Vietnam , , , , , , , , , , ,

Land clearance for and construction of Gia Binh Airport, accelerated for APEC 2027, is displacing thousands of households. Delays in providing replacement housing or compensation have caused difficulties for many of the residents forced to leave their homes. An airport city development surrounding the new airport, the ‘southern Duong River urban area’, is planned.

Gia Binh International Airport 2030 masterplan
Gia Bình International Airport 2030 masterplan graphic

Land clearance and construction of Gia Binh AIrport, about 40 kilometres east of Hanoi in a rural area of Vietnam’s Bac Ninh province, are underway. A mega-airport is planned with four runways arranged in two pairs, handling 30 million passengers and 1.6 million tonnes of cargo per year by 2030 increasing to 50 million passengers per year and 2.5 million tonnes of cargo by 2050. The total investment is estimated at VND196,378 trillion (USD7.5 billion). A vast swath of productive farmland is being sacrificed for the new airport. Land allocated for the Gia Binh Airport site, in the communes of Gia Ginh, Luong Tai, Nhan Thang and Lam Thao, encompasses about 1,184.78 hectares of agricultural land, including about 920 hectares of rice fields yielding two crops per year. The site also comprises 415 hectares of non-agricultural land, 159.4 hectares of residential land and 124.8 hectares of land utilised for defence and security purposes. Preparation of the airport project site has triggered one of the largest land clearances in Vietnam’s recent history, affecting approximately 7,100 households and individuals and 118 organisations; about 5,800 households and individuals are being relocated. By 25th December 2025 almost 600 hectares of land had been cleared and land registration for 6,309 households within the project area was complete. The Bac Ninh province had advanced over VND2,700 billion (USD102.5 million) to pay compensation to about 5,000 households. Plans for a second phase of compensation were progressing with a further VND1,102 billion (USD41.8 million) in payments for approximately 360 hectares of agricultural land. An inventory of religious structures and tombs had identified 17,800 graves within the project area to be relocated, but the process was complexified by the many unique buildings including churches, temples and communal houses with a higher value than the price framework and therefore requiring specific estimates.

Acceleration for APEC 2027

As well as a major passenger and cargo hub Gia Binh Airport is being built as strategic infrastructure to host major diplomatic events, beginning with the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) 2027 Leaders’ Week gathering of high level officials, to be hosted by Vietnam and scheduled for November 2027. Construction of key components of Gia Binh Airport has been accelerated for APEC 2027, even though the primary event venues are on Phu Quoc island, 15 kilometres off the coast of Cambodia in the Gulf of Thailand. On 7th March 2026, nearing the end of his term, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh visited the Gia Binh Airport project and directed stakeholders to develop the site as an “airport economic ecosystem”. He stated that the airport will be a dual-use (civilian and military) facility, stressing the importance of completion in time for APEC 2027 Leaders’ Week, and was briefed on the progress of construction of the VIP terminal. By 19th March pile driving and removal of topsoil for the VIP area was complete and foundation works were underway. Authorities had handed over 1,259.45 hectares, 66.82% of the 1,883.93 hectare required land area, and relocation of 4,761 graves was expedited. But land clearance of about 1,260 households, scheduled to be complete by 30th April, was highlighted as the ‘most significant bottleneck’ impeding the expedited construction programme.

Land clearance for a road network

Development of road networks serving the airport, involving land clearance for wide corridors to accommodate multiple lanes, has been accelerated for APEC 2027. The total investment for a 41.3 kilometre road connecting Gia Binh Airport with Hanoi, linking directly with several major arterial roads, including intercity expressways, is estimated at VND83 trillion (USD3.165 billion). People in the Thuan Thanh, Tram Lo, Tri Qua and Mao Dien wards are being resettled to make way for the Gia Binh Airport – Hanoi road and a resettlement site is being urgently constructed in Lam Thao commune southwest of the airport site. By 24th July 2026 304 out of 412 hectares of land in Bac Ninh had been cleared for the 10-lane, 120 metres wide road which is expected to open in October 2026, in time to serve APEC 2027. Rapid advancement of the Bac Ninh segments of the Ring Road No. 4 project linking Hanoi with satellite urban centres and northern industrial zones, was reported in My 2026. Clearance of agricultural and residential land within the 90-metre corridor for one component of Ring Road No. 4 was complete along with most of the infrastructure for nine resettlement areas, with excavation and embankment filling works for another component ongoing. Clearance of over 82 hectares for the direct access road was complete and resettlement schemes had been expedited.

Villages and residential areas impacted by land clearance for Gia Binh Airport
Some of the villages and residential areas impacted by land clearance for Gia Binh Airport, the area where site clearance for airport construction is visible is highlighted. Satellite imagery 17/07/2025 / 02/07/2023

Displacement difficulties

In early June Bac Ninh Catholic communities voiced concerns over displacement for Gia Binh Airport. Bishop Joseph Đỗ Quang Khang said he had seen “many families forced to live in temporary housing, facing compounded difficulties over shelter, work, schooling, faith life, and daily activities”. One affected resident wrote on the Diocese’s website “The image of excavators tearing down homes within the planning area of a major national project is striking. Walls collapse. Tiled roofs are stripped away. Belongings are loaded onto trucks. Trucks operate nonstop”. Another resident commented on the previous view of graves and crosses around the parish church abruptly replaced by ‘deep trenches gouged into the earth, overturned patches of land, and fresh marks left by excavators and bulldozers’. A woman representing the Sisters of Our Lady of Unity said their charity home was affected by low valuation of agricultural land and was uncertain where the sisters and 40 disabled children could relocate to. During land clearing operations on 13th June 2026 17 graves in Ngọc Xuyên village were illegally levelled and affected families were pressured to accept the compensation offer and sign a pledge not to file complaints.

Residents forced to dismantle homes

A 24th June 2026 communication from the Bac Ninh province required residents to dismantle their homes and relocate with just a few hours notice, by 4pm that same day. The notice stated that land in four villages – Ngô Thôn, Mỹ Thôn, Lương Pháp, and Thủ Pháp – had been officially handed over to the investor on 20th June but some residents were still dismantling their homes. The following day a preliminary review on land clearance for the airport reported that 1,400 households in the four villages had been relocated in just 38 days. Since late May hundreds of households had been forced to dismantle their homes and move into temporary housing but authorities had not yet constructed resettlement areas nor provided reasonable compensation for affected people. A Bac Ninh province announcement on Facebook met with more than 2,000 reactions, about half of which were ‘haha’ and ‘angry’, and over 600 comments expressing frustration. Residents also posted critical comments in response to Bac Ninh news outlet videos praising the relocation process and claiming it was a ‘high consensus’ exercise. Several residents expressed their difficulties related to the airport at a dialogue meeting held on 3rd July. Their families had received eviction notices instructing them to relocate before 30th August but temporary housing had not yet been organised for them.

Relocation and resettlement delays

One resident spoke of her loss of trust as she had been assured she would not be forced to move again before the resettlement area with permanent replacement housing was ready. Acting on this information she had not rented a house and the only places still available were very small and expensive. She was worried that being forced to vacate by 30th August would push her out onto the street. Another resident with three children had found temporary relocation “extremely difficult and exhausting” and said it would be impossible for more than 500 households in Tử Nê and nearby villages to relocate under the current process. A Phú Dưới village resident said there was not yet official notice of the date by which their family would be required to leave. The Gia Bình Commune Party Committee issued a document stating that relocation of assets must be completed by 20th July in the Đồng Lâm and Quỳnh Bội residential areas and by 20th August in the Đỗ Xá residential area.

‘High consensus’ claims

Interviews conducted by Luật Khoa Magazine contradicted government claims of ‘high consensus’ with the relocation process. A man from Quỳnh Bội village said, “People now have no voice. We have to follow along. How can we resist? If anyone refuses to move, they just impose it.” In the villages of Tử Nê, Bái Giang, and Hương La the relocation deadline was fast approaching but residents reported a lack of preparation. A woman from Tử Nê village said, “Officials say we have to move by Aug. 30, but there is no resettlement yet. We have not received anything.” On 3rd August 2026, for the second time, Gia Binh Commune authorities threatened to disconnect residents’ water, electricity and telecommunications if they did not comply with instructions to leave their homes and had over the site to the investor. A resident of Trại Quỳnh Bội, regretful at the loss of a house built by his family only three years previously, said “The government says electricity will be cut on Aug. 15 if we don’t move. Without moving, what would we live on?” He said he had not received compensation or been notified of land for resettlement and might need to ask friends or neighbours if they could provide land or shelter for temporary accommodation.

‘Fake news’ crackdown

Authorities reacted to increased scrutiny and criticism of the Gia Binh Airport project with a repressive crackdown, penalising people for spreading so-called ‘fake news’. According to research by Luật Khoa Magazine since works on the airport began in September 2025 dozens of people accused of disseminating ‘fake news’ have been warned, sanctioned or ‘educated’. Severe measures included police visiting people in their own homes to monitor their opinions and pressuring people to write pledges stating compliance with regulations. One of the key responsibilities of a committee tasked with ‘ensuring security’ and maintaining the airport project schedule is to prevent articles and comments deemed to be ‘negative’ or ‘affecting public opinion and communication efforts’ regarding land clearance for the airport.

Gia Binh Airport area, satellite imageryDigital rendering of Gia Binh Airport and surrounding area
Left image:17/07/2025 satellite imagery of the Gia Binh Airport area highlighting where construction works are visible. Right image: digital rendering of plan for Gia Binh Airport and the surrounding ‘southern Duong River urban area’., source: WE LOVE ASEAN_ASEAN urbanist, 04/09/2025

A 12,800 hectare airport city

Vast urban areas surrounding Gia Binh Airport runways and other aviation facilities have been approved. Planning at a scale of 1/2,000 for the ‘southern Duong River urban area’, a zone covering more than 12,800 hectares described as an ‘international-class airport city’ was approved by the Bac Ninh province in September 2025. On his 7th March 2026 airport site visit the then Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh directed stakeholders to develop the site as an “airport economic ecosystem” and to plan surrounding areas as an aviation economy. The urban area is envisaged to include a free-trade zone, duty free zone, multimodal logistics zone, inland port, conference and exhibition centre, offices, hotels and housing. With a high-density layout a population of between 750,000 and 800,000 people – permanent residents, workers and tourists – is anticipated. Plans for segments of the airport-related urban area, in the Gia Binh, Nhan Thang and Dong Cuu communes, are advancing. The ‘Gia Binh Airport urban area 1’ project, a VND39.52 trillion (USD1.51 billion) urban development covering about 200.8 hectares of land and expected to accommodate about 35,637 residents has been approved along with detailed 1/500 scale planning for ‘Gia Binh Airport Urban Area 2‘, encompassing about 560.5 hectares with an expected population of 70,000-80,000 people. Plans for a 5,000 hectare free trade zone linked to Gia Binh Airport, intending to create a ‘new growth engine for the region’, a ‘gateway connecting Vietnam to global markets’ and a ‘regional trade hub’, were adopted in June 2026.

Colombia: About 250 families face displacement for construction of Aerocafé Airport

Rose Bridger Colombia, Colomiba , , , , , , ,
Aerocafe Airport
Rendering of Aerocafé Airport, now under construction in Palestina, Caldas. Image source: CPG Click Oil and Gas

Construction of Aerocafé Airport, in the municipality of Palestina in the south central region of the state of Caldas, part of Colombia’s coffee cultivating region known as the Coffee Triangle or Coffee Axis, is underway, The showcase infrastructure project is promoted as an engine for regional growth, anticipated to enable a 12 per cent increase in nature, adventure, cultural and gastronomic tourism. Exports including coffee, textiles and household appliances are envisaged. Yet Palestina residents in the affected area complain of uncertainty, displacement and disputes over compensation. In addition to economic concerns over resettlement the airport project has begun to impact on people’s local networks and sense of belonging. Authorities claim that the project complies with compensation and resettlement procedures. Construction of Aerocafé Airport, among the most complex and expensive in the history of the Caldas Department, is having major impacts on people occupying the area designated for the project. Land is being prepared for construction works and machinery moved in, directly affecting approximately 250 families living near the area earmarked for the runway and other structures. Entire communities will have to vacate their homes, rural property and small businesses. The Department of Caldas, Ministry of Transport and Civil Aeronautics of Colombia stated that affected residents should relocate to a planned neighbourhood providing equivalent or superior housing, with temporary compensation during the resettlement process. But this process necessitates environmental licenses, technical requirements and public hearings that are not yet completed.

These negative impacts on communities directly affected by construction are not what was promoted by the UK Government Prosperity Fund. In 2020 this scheme (a £25.5 million programme running from 2017 to 2022) provided USD1,265,000 for design studies for ‘Aerocafé, An Airport That Champions Economic Inclusion and Gender Equity’, claiming it would incorporate best practices exemplifying the principles of gender equity and social inclusion along with adherence to environmental standards. British Ambassador to Colombia, Colin Martin-Reynolds said, “This project will have a considerable impact on the economic development and livelihoods of communities in Caldas and the entire coffee producing region.” Manager of the Aeropuerto del Café Association, Amparo Sánchez Londoño, emphasised the strategic significance of the airport and foreign investment, saying, “thanks to this international cooperation, we have consultants with extensive experience in the airport sector, adding value to the design of the most important infrastructure project for the economic revival of the region.” Recent news on construction works raises serious concerns that Aerocafé Airport is failing to foster inclusive economic development for directly affected communities, or to support their livelihoods.

Plans for the Aerocafé Airport, originally named ‘Coffee Airport’, first emerged in 1977 but the project met with lengthy delays due to funding and administrative issues combined with engineering difficulties of constructing an airport on steeply sloping, unstable terrain. The site is on a plateau 1,600 metres above sea level which, following cut and grading works, could accommodate a runway more than 3 kilometres in length. In August 2021, during preparation of the site including grading (levelling the site), confirmation of sites for disposal of surplus materials and drainage works, the Civil Aeronautics of Colombia estimated that 5.8 million cubic metres of earth would need to be moved. In October 2024, 47 years after it was first mooted, the megaproject was revived when Aerocafé received a finance guarantee from the Colombian government, which meant that contracting for a further stage of construction works could commence. The investment for first phase of the project, with a 1,460 metre runway, taxiway, hangars, apron and a 6,000 square metre terminal with capacity for 1 million passengers per annum, is 828,423 million Colombian pesos (approximately USD197 million). The finance guarantee from the Ministry of Finance complemented funding from the Federal Government and Caldas State.

DR Congo: Evictions and demolitions for Mbuji-Mayi Airport rehabilitation and expansion

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About 800 houses were demolished to make way for rehabilitation and expansion of Mbuji-Mayi Airport. Many affected people said compensation did not match the real value of their land plots.

Aerial imagery of Mbuji-Mayi Airport, 17th June 2023Aerial imagery of Mbuji-Mayi Airport, 19th May 2025
Aerial imagery shows changes to the northern section of Mbuji-Mayi Airport between June 2023 and May 2025. In addition to runway works, roads have been widened and buildings next to the airport demolished and replaced with fast-growing vegetation.

Rehabilitation of Mbuji-Mayi Airport, located in the northeast of the city of Mbuji-Mayi, the capital of the Kasai-Oriental Province in south central DR Congo, is part of the Priority Air Safety Project – Phase 2 (PPSA 2) project financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB). Project components include runway extension, construction of aircraft parking aprons, control tower and works to improve aviation safety. AfDB’s 2018 Summary Environmental and Social Management Plans (ESMP) noted that the project area consists of neighbourhoods situated near the airport with dwellings and agricultural plots on the site; some activities including runway extension were postponed to enable studies and mobilisation of funding for involuntary resettlement. In February 2021 the mayor of Mbuji-Mayi set up a commission to identify all affected people who would be evicted, then in March he made reassurances that state obligations for the eviction of people who had built and rented houses would be followed.

Bulldozing of unauthorised buildings around Mbuji-Mayi Airport began on 7th November 2022. The airport project necessitated displacement of approximately 800 households but compensation of affected people was suspended in October 2023 because the census was inadequate and the process had not been accepted by all the residents with some continuing to resist. People whose land was expropriated began receiving compensation cheques on 13th October yet some voiced concerns about finding a new site, the compensation amount and demanded more transparency and guarantees regarding their property rights.

On 21st October 2023 residents whose land was expropriated for the airport project demonstrated in the street denouncing insufficient compensation, burning tyres at two road junctions before police attempted, unsuccessfully, to disperse them. An emergency meeting failed to reach an agreement satisfactory to plot owners who were given a 15-day ultimatum to relocate after receipt of compensation. In February 2024, as works at Mbuji-Mayi Airport were underway, owners of nearly 800 houses on the site were given two weeks’ notice to dismantle their homes. Occupants maintained that the compensation offer did not match the value of their assets.

On 17th July 2024 the mayor of Mbuji-Mayi announced imminent demolition of houses built on the airport site, in the name of expropriation for public purposes. Plot owners had been given tokens for replacement land on the outskirts of Mbuji-Mayi but had not vacated or demolished their houses; 800 families still contested expropriation due to lack of recognition of the market value of their plots. A delegation of residents living around the airport requested protection and support from the provincial authority and respect for expropriation law as recognised in the constitution.

Early on the morning of 29th October 2024 demolition of houses east of Mbuji-Mayi Airport, between Zaire and Dodoma avenues, began. Heavy machinery was escorted by police, as owners of the buildings demanded compensation matching the real value of their property. All their efforts, including marches, sit-in protest and suicide threats, had not dissuaded the government from expropriating the land plots. On the instructions of the president of DRC, Félix Tshisekedi, Minister of Social Affairs, Humanitarian Action and Solidarity, Nathalie Aziza Munana, visited Mbuji-Mayi on 10th November to investigate the demolition of 800 houses near the airport, collect information about evictions and meet with victims and civil society organisations. Minister of Justice, Constant Mutamba, said he had been contacted by several citizens who had not yet received the compensation they were promised, raising suspicions of misappropriation of funds allocated for this purpose.

For more information including references for all source material and photos see the case study on EJAtlas, the world’s largest, most comprehensive online database of social conflict around environmental issues – Mbuji-Mayi Airport rehabilitation, DRC

Farmers resist land-grabbing for cargo airport in Ogun State, Nigeria

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5,000 farmers from 20 villages are being displaced for a cargo airport in Ogun State, Nigeria. Residents of Igbin-Ojo and seven other communities have protested over land-grabbing. Crops have been bulldozed and they fear forcible eviction.

A major cargo airport is planned in the Wasimi area (also referred to as Wasinmi) of Ewekoro Local Government Area of Ogun State, near Nigeria’s southeast coast. On 18th December 2017 hundreds of farmers from the village of Igbin Ojo and seven other communities in Ogun State protested against land-grabbing for the airport. Appealing to the Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun to intervene community leader Ademola Tiwalade Adisa stated that, on three occasions, groups of people came onto their land. Adisa reported that, on 17th November a group of people with a bulldozer invaded their land, then, on 24th November and 8th December a larger group of people encroached onto their land and began mapping portions of it. Below are photos of the 18th December protest published by The Sun Newspaper.

Igbin-Ojo residents protest against displacement
Farmland destroyed, cargo airport planned

Narrating their ordeal of 8th December 2017 Adisa said that heavily armed men of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) had forcefully arrested a number of people and, at gunpoint, forced him and his elder brother to sign an undertaking stating that they would not disturb work on their land. Villagers claim that the land trespassing and mapping was led by former chair of the Ewekoro Local Government Area, Mr. Dele Soluade, but he has repeatedly denied all the allegations, dismissing the claims he had illegally invaded the land as “unfounded” and insisting that he was acting under the instructions of Governor Amosun.

Affected villagers had undertaken a survey before the trespassing and mapping exercise began, clarifying the status of their land with the state government. They had obtained a land information certificate dated 13th December 2017 which confirmed that the land in question is completely free of all known acquisitions. The land information certificate was published in the The Sun Newspaper. Farmers’ land rights claims were fortified by this document and Abisa said: “We, therefore, appeal to Governor Ibikunle Amosun to come to our aid before he wipes our communities out in his desperation to grab our lands.”

Farmers dispossessed and crops destroyed

A 4th February an article in The Guardian Sunday Magazine painted an alarming picture of the plight of residents of Igbin Ojo, ‘fighting the battle of their lives’ to resist displacement from their ancestral land. Over the course of a few weeks crops worth millions of Naira, including cassava and pineapple plantations, had been destroyed by bulldozers and caterpillars. Farmland measuring nearly 164 hectares serving as their providing main source of income had been leveled and forcibly taken away. Fear had enveloped other farmers, including people who had invested heavily in poultry facilities which they feared losing. Farmers were distraught, dispossessed of their land and anticipating being evicted from their homes, desperately worried about their own survival and the future for their children. One woman said that that the entire community was living in fear and hunger and that children were unable to attend school because parents were unable to afford the fees.

One of the community elders, Pa Emmanuel Olukunle Opeagbe, said that the community had enjoyed ownership of the land from time immemorial up until 17th November 2017 when the first land invasion took place. He confirmed community leader Abisa’s account of land invasions by a group of people, which he described as “fierce-looking thugs”, and a bulldozer. He backed up community leader Adisa’s allegations of Soluade leading the land invasions and resorting to abuse, harassment, intimidation and threats to bulldoze people along with the crops. Opeagbe reported that Soluade had told villagers that their community would cease to exist. Along with Adisa, Opeagbe had been arrested and forced at gunpoint to sign an undertaking not to interfere with trespassing on the land.

Residents appealed to the Federal Government, Amnesty International and human rights activists for support. On 16th February the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) responded, petitioning Governor Amosun over the unlawful acquisition of land and threat to their lives. State chair of CLO, Joseph Enitan, said intervention of the governor is urgently needed because Soluade is acting under his instructions to trespass and grab lands. Farmland was being invaded and destroyed, in the name of constructing a cargo airport. Community members including council chairman Kehinde Adepegba were shocked by recent developments. New areas of land had been claimed for the airport project and encroached upon, even though the land required for the airport was allocated to the project many years previously.

A large portion of land had already been acquired for the proposed Ogun cargo airport, which was first conceived in 2005. Yet, shortly before the reports of land grabbing, in May 2017, the project languished abandoned; the only physical infrastructure that had materialized was a perimeter fence around an area of land measuring 5 x 5 kilometers. Farmers from about 35 communities, who had grown crops like rice and high-yield cassava had been displaced for the project, but they had not received compensation for the loss of their land and livelihoods. Opeagbe said the large portions of land that were “compulsorily taken for the project years back are yet to be compensated for” and that people had not protested against the airport because they believed it would bring development to their area and they would benefit from it.

Farmland is being destroyed, and farmers displaced, for an airport project which aims to export farm produce; the Ogun airport project has been described as an ‘agro-cargo airport‘. It appears that the primary purpose of the airport is envisaged as ‘transportation of agricultural products to other parts of the world’, also referred to as export of perishable (temperature controlled) goods. Only cursory mention has been made of other potential functions for the airport such as import of consumer goods, machinery and industrial raw products, pilot training school, aircraft maintenance facility, helicopter and air taxi services.

Compensation and a possible court case

At the end of February Governor Amosun announced that 500 million Naira (nearly US$1.4 million) had been allocated for payment of compensation to farmers losing their land for the airport, saying that the money would be disbursed to 20 villages directly affected by the airport project. He also said that affected farmers would be relocated to an appropriate location where they could continue their farm business, making assurances that his administration would not bring hardship to the people. It was then reported that 1,000 farmers had been compensated for loss of their agricultural land and crops and the remaining 4,000 would receive compensation within the next few weeks. If it is indeed the case that US1.4 million has been earmarked for compensation of 5,000 farmers, then assuming the same amount is to be allocated per farmer this adds up to a mere US$280 each. Igbin Ojo is one of the villages listed as beneficiaries of the first phase of compensation, along with Pataleri, Igbagba, Mosan, Igbin Orola, Igbin Arowosegbe, Idele and Balagbe.

Since this announcement GAAM has not found any reports of affected villagers’ response to the compensation offer, aside from a single resident of Igbagba village reportedly appreciative of prompt payment. There have been newspaper reports of officials making statements urging people to support the project, and exhorting its supposed benefits of employment for local people, economic development and attracting foreign investors. But it is evident that land acquisition for the airport is not supporting development, it is destroying communities. As officials proclaim potential positive impacts of the airport GAAM has not found any information on such vital matters as how the project will be funded and which firms and/or government bodies will be responsible for constructing, operating and managing the facility. But it is evident that a truly gargantuan megaproject is in the works. As he again implored residents to support the cargo airport Governor Amonsun said that ‘thousands of hectares‘ would be required for the project.

Communities resisting loss of their land for Ogun cargo airport are dragging Soluade to court in an attempt to bring the land grabbing to a halt. Their struggle has parallels with farmers’ resistance to the Ekiti airport project, north of Ogun state. In October 2015 the state government of Ekiti sent in bulldozers to clear 4,000 hectares of farmland for an airport, without even discussing the project with affected farm owners in five villages. Farmers succeeded in stalling the land clearance and suspending the airport project. Opponents from within the state government supported the farmers, arguing that the project had begun illegally without adhering to due process and criticized the high level of state funding. The farmers protested and filed a suit seeking damages for unlawful land acquisition, and in March 2016 were vindicated with a court victory upholding their claims. But in the interim ten Ekiti farmers died. Community members attributed their deaths to the terrible trauma of the injustice perpetrated by the state.