LASG Demolishes Illegal Structures On Banana Island 

The impacted properties were in violation of the Lagos State Urban and Regional Planning Development Law (2019), according to a statement from the state Ministry of Information.

By Omotayo Olutekunbi

The destruction of unlawful structures in the state’s Banana Island region began on Wednesday by the Lagos State Government.

The project was a component of the state’s attempts to combat the state’s high incidence of building collapses.

Officials from the Lagos State Building Control Agency, the Lagos State Environmental and Special Offenses Unit, and the Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority carried out the activity.

The General Manager of LASBCA, Gbolahan Oki, and the Task Force Chairman, CSP Shola Jejeloye, headed the team on behalf of the agencies.

The impacted properties were in violation of the Lagos State Urban and Regional Planning Development Law (2019), according to a statement from the state Ministry of Information.

Additionally, it was said to be in keeping with the agency’s primary legislative obligations, which include identifying and removing or demolishing any in need of repair, unlawful, or non-compliant structures throughout the State.

 “The exercise is in compliance with Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s directive last weekend when he visited the site of the seven-story building that collapsed on Banana Island.

“Governor Sanwo-Olu said the site of the collapsed building was not originally part of the Island’s plan,” the statement added.

A seven-story structure under construction that fell on Wednesday, April 12, on First Avenue in the region required seven people to be rescued from the debris.

According to PUNCH Metro, the structure, which had been under construction for months, abruptly collapsed at 4.58 pm while workers were going about their usual business inside.

While some workers at the scene managed to escape unharmed, while others suffered varied degrees of damage, it was learned that other unfortunate individuals ended themselves trapped beneath the debris of the destroyed building.

Some witnesses, including construction workers at the site of adjacent buildings inside the grounds, raised the alarm and contacted the necessary emergency services, who mobilized to the scene to begin rescue operations in an effort to free the trapped victims.

In a statement published on its verified Facebook page shortly after the tragedy, the Lagos State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development stated that no clearance had been provided for the building of the fallen structure.

The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency’s rescue operations did however result in the recovery of one adult male’s body from the debris.

This was verified by the state’s commissioner for information and strategy, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso, who said in a statement on Friday, April 15, that the victim’s body was discovered in the morning, about 48 hours after the crime.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu ordered the demolition of no less than 20 buildings in the area without valid building approvals, particularly those seen to have violated building regulations and plans of the State, while leading a delegation to have an on-the-spot assessment of the incident on Saturday, April 22.

The granting of a licence to fill the Lagos Lagoon with sand without taking into account the region’s geography also drew the ire of the governor.

Sanwo-Olu also voiced his disgust with the federal government’s approvals provided to developers in collusion with a few dishonest members of the Lagos State administration.