Building collapse: Lagos issues 24-hour ultimatum to estate directors
The Lagos State Government has issued 24-hour ultimatum
to all directors of the Lekki Worldwide Estate Limited, developer of the Lekki Garden Construction to report to the Commissioner of Police or face arrest.
The government expressed its condolences over the death of construction site workers on Tuesday as a result of the collapse of a five-storey building under construction on Kushenla Road, Ikate Elegushi, Lekki.
In a press release issued on Wednesday and signed by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde, the State Government also announced that based on preliminary reports and investigation, it was discovered that the collapsed building was served contravention notice for exceeding the approved floors and thereafter sealed by the Lagos State Building Control Agency.
It added that it has also been discovered that in a brazen act of defiance and impunity, the owners of the building, Messrs Lekki Worldwide Estate Limited, the promoters of Lekki Gardens, criminally unsealed the property and continued building beyond the approved floors until the unfortunate incident of Tuesday which has led to loss of lives.
The statement added that arising from the Lagos State Executive Council meeting decision on Wednesday, the State Government would no longer tolerate the action of unscrupulous owners and builders who challenge its supervisory control thereby endangering the lives of Lagosians.
The State Government has consequently directed the suspension of work at the site and ordered the Lagos State Police Command to cordon it off as it is now a crime scene.
The government also directed further integrity tests be carried out on other construction projects which has or is currently being handled by Messrs Lekki Worldwide Estate Limited in the interest of public safety.
Furthermore, the release quoted the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode as saying that all directors of Lekki Worldwide Estate Limited are strongly advised to submit themselves to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police within the next twenty four hours in their own interest or face immediate arrest.
The statement also commended the timely response and remarkable intervention by the combined men of the Lagos State Emergency Authority (LASEMA), the Lagos State Fire Service, Lagos State Ambulance Service (LASAMBUS), Red Cross, National Emergency Agency (NEMA), Lagos State Building Control Agency and the Rapid Response Squad (RRS).
The Lagos State Government also warned that it will no longer be business as usual for unscrupulous developers, stating that any developer handling new building projects who fails to comply with building and construction regulations or attempts to subvert the law will henceforth face criminal prosecution.
