17 July 2012 Last updated at 13:16

In pictures: Clearing Nigeria's Makoko settlement

A woman on board a wooden canoe, holding her child, in the Makoko settlement in Lagos, Nigeria.

Nigerian officials have begun demolishing the Makoko settlement in the commercial capital, Lagos, with dozens of dwellings torn down since Monday.

A demolished house in the Makoko waterfront settlement in Lagos, Nigeria

Last week officials told residents of the waterfront homes they had 72 hours to leave.

A woman reacts to authorities pulling down shelters and dwellings on the Makoko settlement in Lagos, Nigeria

Nigerian authorities will not say how many people are likely to be affected by the clearance, but activists say tens of thousands will be left homeless.

Residents of Makoko look on at damaged dwellings

The settlement consists of thousands of ramshackle abodes, most made from wood, perched on stilts on the lagoon.

A mother and child on board a boat, with their belongings in tow, on the lagoon of the Makoko settlement

The settlement clearance targets only the waterfront area. Residents living on the inland section of Makoko will not be affected.

This is a 2010 photograph of the Makoko settlement, taken during the filming of the BBC documentary Welcome to Lagos.

A 2010 landscape view of the Makoko lagoon settlement in Lagos

The film angered the Nigerian government. Officials have said the waterfront homes in Makoko are "unwholesome" and an "environmental nuisance".

Africa

In pictures: Clearing Nigeria's Makoko settlement

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