Lagos Demolish building ,shut 15 houses

Lagos State Building Control Agency on
Tuesday demolished a defective two-
storey building on Freeman Street, while it
shut 15 others on Herbert Macaulay, Oloto
and Market streets in Ebute Meta, Lagos
Mainland Local Government.

Among the houses sealed off and marked
for demolition were the Palace of the Eze
Benard Orjika (Okpoko 1) and two
buildings opposite the house of a
lawmaker representing Lagos Mainland
Constituency, Mr. Alao Owolabi.
Our correspondent gathered that the
demolished building, which had about 36
rooms, was built 40 years ago.

General Manager, LASBCA, Mrs. Abimbola
Animashaun, explained that the building
was demolished after it failed an integrity
test conducted by the agency.

She said the occupants of the building
were notified about the exercise, adding
that owners of other sealed buildings
should proceed to the agency's office for
advice.
She said, "We have marked 30 buildings in
this area and among the buildings, five of
them will be removed before the end of
the week. Some of them are still waiting for
the
result of the integrity test from the
Lagos State Material Testing Agency and
definitely we will get it soon to determine
further actions.

"After notifying the occupants that the
building was not safe for them, they
refused to vacate it. We have been here
more than three times and immediately
they see us, they ususally run away or hide
somewhere. They
should not go below the
minimum standard by using inferior
materials.

"We have sealed about 1,800 properties
and there is no one to come and claim
them. The owners are not forthcoming and
if there is no one to claim them, it means
we have the right to go and remove them.

People should come to LASBCA, no matter
the situation, to get advice. Some of them
have removed our seals and they are
going to be prosecuted."

However, there was drama when residents
of the Eze's palace and that of a house
located at 8, Herbert Macaulay Street,
protested against sealing of their houses.
Some of the residents accused LASBCA of
bias in their mode of operation, arguing
that "some buildings that are defective
were spared".

A lady, who refused to vacate the Eze's
palace, said, "This is totally illegal. We have
done everything required of us. We were
told to conduct an integrity test and we
have done that but the government
refused to give us the result and receipt
for our payment.

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