Lekki Gardens sealed, police arrest contractor

The Lagos state government has sealed Lekki Gardens over the collapse of a five-storey building under construction at Kushenla Road, Ikate Elegushi in the Lekki area of the state.

Steve Ayorinde, commissioner for information and strategy, confirmed this in a statement issued on Wednesday, expressing condolence with families of the victims.

“The Lagos state government 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,” the statement read.

“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 government will 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 every other construction project which has or is currently being handled by Messrs Lekki Worldwide Estate Limited in the interest of public safety. Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode has advised all directors of Lekki Worldwide Estate Limited to submit themselves to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police within the next twenty four hours in their own interest or face immediate arrest.”

Meanwhile, the police in Lagos says it has arrested the contractor handling the building.

Oladapo Badmus, spokesman of the command, made the disclosure to NAN on Tuesday, but he did not reveal where the arrested was made.

Badmus gave his name as Odofin Taiwo, adding that he was currently under investigation.

Also, the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) has confirmed that the death toll had risen to 30 by 4 pm on Wednesday.

Mchael Akindele, general manager of the agency, said as at 12.40 pm on the same day, 13 other people had been rescued.

Correspondents of NAN who were at the scene report that the 28th dead person was brought out from the rubble at about 2 pm, and the 30th minutes before 4 pm.

Stench from the dead bodies filled the air, forcing the rescue operators and other sympathisers to cover their nostrils with handkerchief.

“As we speak, we have been able to rescue 13 people alive, and unfortunately, 30 others have been brought out dead,” he said.

“The operation is still ongoing, and I want to commend all the security agencies that have ensured the protection of the rescue operatives.”

Bede Obayi, director, inspectorate and complaint of the Standards Organisation (SON), inspected the collapsed building and others under construction in the area.

Obayi ordered for the collection of the different building materials used for the collapsed building such as iron rods, blocks, sand, granites and sea water for laboratory analysis.

“The first thing in a house is the block; from the ones we have examined here, it has failed the test,” he said.

“The construction of this building is not up to 50 metres from the sea, showing that this land was reclaimed from the sea. There are conditions for reclaiming a land from the sea and the kind of building materials to be used in such lands.

“We have to examine all the materials used for this building and see if they meet the condition. You need to also see that the right professionals handled the building project. If you use the best materials without the right professionals handling the materials, things will still go wrong.

“You must be a registered professional engineer for you to handle this type of project. If you want to build, you must look for a professional. We are going to investigate all the structures and materials in this environment.”