Residents of Lagos and Nigerians in other states of the country have become perturbed due to the incidence of building collapse in Lagos state which have become very alarming. The state recently recorded over 100 collapsed building in eleven years. On Sunday, a seven story building at the Oniru in Lekki collapsed. Two persons were immediately confirmed dead and about 3 other persons were said to be recovered.
In 2022, so far, 5 cases of building collapse have been reported in Lagos involving over 25 casualties. The most recent case occurred barely a month after the previous case which was recorded in August in Bariga where 2 deaths and 3 ghastly injuries were reported. Earlier, a two-story-building had collapsed in Bariga area with no casualty recorded in May and a three-story-building collapsed in Ebutemeta area in February with 10 casualties reported. The last case that capped the 2021 building collapse in the state occurred in November where over 40 persons reportedly died in the collapse of 21-story-building.
“An average of 4.8 collapses have occurred within the past 5 years and cases have been more intense in Lagos Island and Ebute Meta area” Nairametrics reported. The recent collapse that occurred in Lekki made it the fifth collapse in Lagos so far this year.
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the Vanguard reported that the seven-story building was sealed on February 18, 2021 by officials of Lagos State Building Control Agency, LASBCA but the developer defied and continued with the project. In the news report, it was said that an eye witness at the scene said the building was giving distress vibrations for a couple of minutes before it went down slowly, noting that about 30 escaped before the collapse.
The collapse incidence in Lagos state has been attributed to a number of factors such as high number of old and dilapidated buildings in affected regions, gas explosion, heavy rains, poor construction by developers and negligence of regulatory agencies in ensuring accountability of the construction workers. The most important factors have been identified as poor construction at 36 percent, followed by old buildings at 20 percent, according to Nairametrics analysis.
It was reported that the Lagos Government had earlier issued a directive to the Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority (LASPPPA) to stop receiving applications for approval of buildings above three floors in Ebutemeta. This decision, according to Dr. Idrius Solake, Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, was informed by poor soil and topography level as well as low water levels in the area that made it impossible to erect buildings above 3 floors in the area. The commissioner has tendered his resignation today In less than 24 hours after the Lekki building collapse.
Granting interview to TVC breakfast on Monday, 8 am, Mr Bamidele Onalaja, Chairman of Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN) said the developer at the site, whose identity has yet to be unravelled, could not be confirmed as a member of REDAN.