Former presidential candidate Peter Obi has said those seeking to justify the current demolitions in Aspamda Market Lagos, and similar situations across Nigeria must be reminded that the law is not an end in itself; it is a means to ensure order, peace, and the protection of human dignity.

In a statement, he said when the law becomes an instrument to inflict undeserved pain - enforced without compassion or regard for human welfare - it ceases to serve justice.

Obi said this after the Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, slammed Senator Victor Umeh for condemning the demolition of illegal structures at Aspamda market in Lagos.

According to Wahab, no condemnation was issued when the governments of Anambra State and Abia State demolished buildings that contravene state laws.

In an apparent reaction, Obi said, "Even if, for the sake of argument, some of the affected traders failed to obtain the proper approvals, which is unlikely, was demolition the only option? If opportunities for regularisation truly existed, as some have argued, why were they not pursued? Does it truly serve justice to destroy billions of naira worth of investments and livelihoods when less destructive remedies could have sufficed?

"It is like punishing a man who stole a bicycle with death instead of imprisonment - a sentence grossly disproportionate to the offence. That is what these demolitions represent: a punishment that far outweighs any alleged infraction.

"My appeal is simple: governance must always balance law with compassion. A government should not pride itself on being legally correct if, in the process, it becomes morally wrong. Justice, to be just, must be tempered with mercy.

"These demolitions are a test of our collective humanity, justice, and compassion. Power must always be exercised with empathy - for it is in how we treat the vulnerable that the true character of leadership is revealed."

ASA