Collapsed Ikoyi Building: Lagos Governor Sanwo-Olu Sets Up Six-Man Probe Panel As Death Toll Rises To 36

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has named the members of a panel of inquiry set up by the government to probe the building collapse in Ikoyi, Lagos state.

Addressing reporters, family members, and sympathisers when he visited the site on Wednesday, he stated that the panel comprised five members and a secretary.

The Governor said;

I have set up a high-powered commission of inquiry consisting of five members who are top professionals in the country.

Members of the panel include President of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners, Tayo Ayinde; a foremost structural engineer, Akintilo Idris Adeleke; a partner with a leading architectural firm, Yinka Ogundairo; a foremost builder in the country, Godfrey O. Godfrey, and a lawyer and property expert, Mrs Bunmi Ibrahim. The secretary of the panel is a lawyer, Ekundayo Onajobi.

The governor visited the scene alongside other top government officials, including the deputy governor of the state, Dr Obafemi Hamzat.

He condoled with the family members of the victims of the disaster and assured them that the government was making effort to get to the root cause of the incident.

Sanwo-Olu, who wondered why there was no manifest of those in the building before it collapsed, stated that rescue efforts were ongoing.

He stated;

I commend the first responders that have been here working to see how they can bring out as many survivors as possible. It’s been a very difficult journey for all of them and we will continue to ensure that whatever needs to be done, to get to the root cause of this, will be done.

The Governor revealed that he would sign an executive order to give legal backing to the panel set up to investigate the cause of the collapse.

The members, according to him, are experts who have no relationship with the government and are drawn from various professional bodies.

Noting that the panel would be given about a month to conclude its assignment, Sanwo-Olu stated that the government would punish anyone found culpable.

The panel’s terms of reference include ascertaining whether there was a compromise of the building codes by the developer, his contractor, and statutory regulatory agencies.

Already, General Manager of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), Arc. Gbolahan Oki, had been suspended indefinitely by the governor.

However, it was all tears yesterday as the body of Nifemi, the personal assistant to Femi Osibona, the owner of the building, which collapsed in Ikoyi area of Lagos on Monday, was recovered.

Managing Director of Fourscore Heights Limited, Osibona, who was trapped under the rubble alongside Nifemi and Wale Bob-Oseni, his friend, were yet to be recovered 48 hours after the incident.

A source said;

The dead body of the PA (Personal Assistant) to the owner of the collapsed Lagos building has been recovered. The police orderly of the owner says Osibona is trapped in the rubble with his friend, Wale Bob-Oseni.

Bob-Oseni is also a property and real estate dealer like Osibona.

A father whose son’s body was recovered cried uncontrollably at the scene.

At the time of this report, 36 people had been confirmed dead since the building located on Gerrard Road collapsed.

Rescue efforts were still on-going, as families and friends of those trapped in the rubble quailed and hoped for good news.

Nine persons were evacuated alive from the rubble.

Meanwhile, the state government has set up a medical base and information desk at the site of the building collapse, and urged those whose family members were still missing to offer information on their identities.

There is also a website (www.lagosmind.org/help) and helpline number (09090006463) for the distressed families.