…As death toll hits 20
By Uthman Salami
Gov. Babatunde Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has suspended General Manager Lagos Building Control Agency over the collapse of 21-storey building in Lagos on Monday and death of 20 persons.
Although some of the persons rescued survived hours after the collapse of the 21-storey building in the Ikoyi, Lagos State.
Nigerian NewsDirect had reported the unfortunate incident which occurred yesterday along Wesley Road in the commercial hub of the nation.
According to the spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), 16 more bodies have been recovered.
He added that five more persons trapped under the rubble have been rescued by emergency responders at the scene.
As at the time of filing this report, the total figures of those killed and rescued so far are 20 and 10 respectively.
The Deputy Governor of Lagos, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, who visited the scene of the incident, explained that the premise of the collapsed building has been sealed by the government agency in charge of testing, for more investigation into the integrity of the structure.
Emergency workers have intensified rescue operations as more people are believed to be trapped under the rubble.
In a related development, the Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has ordered the suspension of the General Manager of the Lagos State Building Control Agency, Mr. Gbolahan Oki.
Sanwo-Olu further added that the government will find out what went wrong and punish whoever is indicted in the collapsed of the 21-storey building.
He revealed that he had ordered for suspension of the General Manager of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), Mr. Gbolahan Oki, an architect, be suspended from with immediate effect.
This was contained in a press statement issued by the Lagos State Commissioner for Information, Gbenga Omotoso. and made available to Nigerian NewsDirect.
The statement partly read, “The Lagos State Government is setting up an independent panel to probe the collapse of the 21-storey building on Gerrard Road, Ikoyi.
“Members of the panel will be drawn from the Nigeria Institute of Architects (NIA), Nigerian Institute of Town Planners Nigeria Society of Engineers, and other professional bodies.
“It will independently investigate the remote and immediate causes of the incident and make recommendations on how to prevent future occurrence. The investigation is not part of the internal probe already being conducted by the government.
“Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has said the government will surely find out what went wrong and punish those indicted.
“The Governor, as a first step, has directed that the General Manager of the Lagos State Building Control Agency, Mr. Gbolahan Oki, an architect, be suspended from work immediately. The suspension is indefinite.”