Ikoyi building collapse: Supervisory agencies were negligent, says coroner

O.A. Komolafe, the magistrate conducting a coroner’s inquest into the collapse of a 21-storey building in Ikoyi, says the incident was as a result of negligence by supervisory agencies.

According to NAN, Komolafe gave the verdict on Tuesday at a sitting in Lagos.

He said the building density and setback on the site showed violation of the Lagos state building regulations.

The coroner also said the structure failure was due to design errors, lack of quality assurance/control, and poor management of the project.

He said the project board, which should have shown important information, including the names and addresses of the professionals who carried out the project, was deliberately not provided.

According to the coroner, the act shows that the agencies responsible for approval and supervision of the building project were compromised as they failed to sanction offenders.

He, therefore, adopted the recommendation contained in the Council for the Regulations of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) report on the matter, and asked the authorities concerned with implementation of the recommendations to act accordingly.

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.

Hours after the collapse of the building, Gbolahan Oki was suspended from his position as the general manager of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA).

Oki was, however, reinstated five months later, and the state government said he was cleared by the administrative personnel management board.

Meanwhile, in February, LASBCA had said its officials were unaware that construction continued on the 21-storey building despite a stop-work order.