From early 1970s to the late eighties, during the military regime, Bar Beach was also the spot where many convicted armed robbers and coup plotters were executed by firing squad. It was always a public spectacle, with thousands of spectators, including television cameras and print journalists. The first-ever public execution in Nigeria took place at Bar Beach in 1971. It was of Babatunde Folorunsho, for armed robbery. Others include Joseph Ilobo, Williams Alders Oyazimo, and Lawrence Anini and Dr. Oyenusi in the 90s. The convicted plotters of the coup of February 1976 that killed General Murtala Mohammed, including Major-General I D Bisalla and Col. Buka Suka Dimka, were also shot by firing squad on Bar Beach.
1980s to 2000s: Flooding
Over many years, Bar Beach developed a reputation for overflowing its banks and claiming lives and property. Many times, the Ahmadu Bello Way, the road closest to its banks, was closed for safety reasons. Studies showed that between eight and fourteen metres of beach-front was eroded annually along Bar Beach.
In 2003, the idea for a modern city on the Atlantic coast was publicly discussed. It would be sited on what used to be Bar Beach, out of reclaimed land. It would be called Eko Atlantic City, a residential and business district “standing on 10 millionsquare metres of land reclaimed from the ocean and protected by an 8.5 kilometre-long sea wall" In 2008, the construction of the new city began. As of May 2009, while the site was being dredged, about 3,000,000 cubic metres of space had been sand-filled and placed in the reclamation area, while about 35,000 tonnes of rock have been delivered to the site. In 2016, Eko Atlantic City was commissioned by Lagos governor Akinwumi Ambode.
Eko Atlantic and continuing flooding
The Eko Atlantic project has been criticized for having a design flaw that may contribute to continuing flooding in Lagos because of its being "highly susceptible to rising tides, as it is based on an artificial sandbar directly adjacent to the ocean." A storm surge in the exact area where the Eko Atlantic's construction was taking place reportedly killed 16 people. There have been other equally dangerous flooding in Lagos blamed on the new construction project.
