Lagos state government has announced plans to demolish all structurally distressed buildings marked for removal in the Alakija area of Amuwo-Odofin local government area following the collapse of a three-storey building on Thursday which claimed nine lives.
The state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso, disclosed this on Friday while briefing journalists during an inspection of the site of the collapsed building, the inspection was carried out on behalf of the state Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu,who is out of the country.
Omotoso said the state government sympathises with the families of the victims and reaffirmed its commitment to protecting lives through strict enforcement of building regulations.
“On behalf of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, we commiserate with the families who have lost their loved ones. We pray that we never witness this kind of tragedy again,” he said.
He explained that the emergency responders were immediately deployed to the scene after the incident, leading to the successful rescue of 27 people.
“I want to commend all our emergency responders, including LASEMA, the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, LASBCA, the Police, the Military, the Command and Control Centre and other agencies for their swift response. By the grace of God, 27 people were rescued alive, although, sadly, nine lives were lost.”
The commissioner revealed that the collapsed structure had previously been identified as defective and marked for evacuation, but occupants ignored the government’s directive to vacate the premises.
“As you can see, these buildings had been marked as defective and people were asked to quit them. Unfortunately, they refused to comply, and this led to what happened.”
He announced that all other buildings identified as structurally unsafe in the area would be demolished to prevent further loss of lives.
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