A yet-to-be-ascertained number of individuals are believed to have been trapped following the collapse of a two-storey building on Thursday in the Lagos Island area of Lagos, Southwest Nigeria.
The Next Edition understands that the incident occurred at No. 15, Iga Iduganran, near the Oba of Lagos’s palace.
Acting swiftly on the incident, the Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Dr Femi Oke-Osanyintolu, has reportedly deployed a specialized team from the agency’s headquarters, Command and Control Centre to conduct rescue efforts.
While specific information about the building collapse is limited, Nosa Okunbor, the agency’s media spokesperson, mentioned that Oke-Osanyintolu is actively overseeing and managing the search and rescue mission at the site of the collapsed building.
“PS LASEMA, Dr. Olufemi Damilola Oke-Osanyintolu, has rolled out with the elite team from LASEMA HQ, Command and Control Centre, to Supervise and Coordinate the Search and Rescue Operations at the scene of collpsed building that occurred at 15, Iga idungaran, close to Oba’s palace, Lagos Island,” he said.
However, reports revealed that some people were still trapped in the ruins of the collapsed building as of the time this report was filed.
The recent collapse is happening barely a week after a mosque in the Papa Ajao area of Lagos State collapsed, leaving many people dead and others injured.
The Next Edition learnt that the mosque collapsed during afternoon prayer.
In a statement earlier, the permanent secretary of Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Oke-Osanyintolu, said the mosque building collapsed after it was accidentally hit by an excavator, which was clearing the road.
Even If You Are A Government Official, Your Buildings On Right Of Way Will Be Demolished – Sanwo-Olu
Meanwhile, the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has explained that the demolition of buildings in the state is aimed at rescuing the city from flood and other related disasters.
Sanwo-Olu warned that no building on the right of way would be spared since the city is already below sea level.
He stated this during a live media chat on economic hardship on TVC.
The governor stated that the government was not out to take off people’s buildings except those that violated the law of rights of way.
He reaffirmed that no building would be spared, including those built by the Lagos State government staff.
The Next Edition reports that the Right of way is a legal right to pass over another person’s land or the right of certain traffic to go ahead of other traffic.
Sanwo-Olu further revealed that during the clean-up at Obalende and Ijora areas, several infrastructures, including bridges and rail lines, were protected against hibernating people who later turned to attack and rob innocent passersby of their possessions.
He said, “We went round to clean up the city. If you see what we took away from Ijora, Obalende and the rest of it. We have done massive rail infrastructure underneath that rail, you see people in governed spaces. These are the kinds of things we see in terms of traffic robbery.
“Some of them will just come out and rob people on Eko Bridge. Last year, under the bridge of Apongbon, there was a fire incidence that led the government to shut down the bridge for nine months.
“No government will fold its arms and allow such to happen. For nine months, we killed the economic activities in the Apongbon under the bridge. For us to go back and clear it, it is for us to do it over and again. And for the people to know that the bridges needed to be protected. So that those structures can last a hundred and twenty years. Even we don’t have the money to build those kinds of bridges again.”
