Crimes

Lagos govt seals, demolishes Banana Island buildings

The Lagos State Government, on Friday, May 5, demolished a three-storey building under construction, sealed four others, and removed fences around new project sites for being without approval in the Banana Island area of the state.

The General Manager of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), Gbolahan Oki, led the enforcement team.

The team met resistance in some houses but dialogued with some residents before sealing the sites.

Some buildings which were sealed in April where construction works continued were both resealed and toked.

Oki, however, told some residents with fake or wrong approvals steps they must take to comply within two weeks to avoid demolition.

The team, at 101 Close, also escaped attacks as a security man unleashed ferocious dogs on the officials.

A policeman in the team, who spotted the animals, raised the alarm before they caught the guard who was trying to run away after leaving the gate open for the dogs.

He was led back into the compound where he had left the gate open for the animals and was forced to chain them.

Reacting, Oki said LASBCA officials usually go through several harassment and intimidation from residents in the course of their duties.

Oki said the three-storey demolished and four buildings sealed did not have approvals and did not conform to planning rules and regulations.

He said the fences pulled down neither had approvals from Lagos State Government nor authorisation from National Inland Waterways.

“We removed four buildings and some couple of fence but we still have more to do because most of them built without approval,” he said.

Oki further enjoined Lagos residents to always do the right thing and obey all physical planning laws for safe construction and sanity in the environment.

“Whether you are rich or poor, nobody is above the law and the law must take its course,” he added.

The demolished three-storey building was built under power lines.

The Star