Ikoyi building collapse: Lagos to pull down remaining structures on site

The Lagos government says it will demolish the remaining buildings on the site where a 21-storey building collapsed on Gerrard road in Ikoyi.

Idris Salako, Lagos commissioner for physical planning and urban development, said this on Thursday at a media briefing in the state.

Salako said the buildings would take about three months or more to be demolished, adding that the land on which the structures are situated would be taken over by the state.

On November 1, 2021, a 21-storey building, which was being developed by Fourscore Homes, collapsed in the Ikoyi axis of Lagos state.

The collapse of the building led to the death of 46 people, while 15 others were rescued.

Femi Osibona, the owner of Fourscore Homes, was among those who died in the incident.

The site of the building housed three high-rise structures, one of which is the 21-storey building that collapsed.

The state government later constituted a panel to investigate the cause of the collapse, and the panel has submitted its report.

Speaking on Thursday, Salako explained that the forfeiture of the land to the state government is in accordance with section 74 of the Urban and Regional Planning and Development Laws of Lagos State 2019 (as amended).

The commissioner said the section prescribes that any property that collapses in the state will be forfeited to the government, adding that the state government will use the site of the building for something that will benefit the public.

“When the state government is ready to revive the site, we will let the public know what we want to do with it,” he said

“However, I can assure you that the land will not be given to any individual developer or converted to unapproved use by the government. The site will be used for something that will be of benefit to the public.”

Also speaking, Gbenga Omotoso, commissioner for information, said safety will be the main consideration of the deconstruction exercise, adding that measures had been put in place to ensure that the contractor maintains the agreed safety protocols.

“The deconstruction will be done with one key focus from all stakeholders; this is safety of people in the neighbourhood and everybody that will be working on the site. The recommendations of the panel are being implemented to prevent this kind of incident,” Omotoso said.

During the media briefing, Olujumi Lewu, a representative of Edge of Design, explained how the firm will carry out the deconstruction exercise, saying the firm will employ a step-by-step process for the exercise.