By Emma Ogbuefi
The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) has confirmed the collapse of a 21-storey building under construction in Ikoyi.
Director General (DG), Dr. Femi Oke-Osanyintolu, in a statement said the emergency response plan has been activated and first responders deployed.
“The agency has activated its emergency response plan to the above incident. All first responders are en-route to secure the scene while the heavy-duty equipment and life detection equipment have been dispatched,” he said.
TheNiche had earlier reported that many workers were feared trapped in the building which caved in around 3 pm along Gerrard Road, Ikoyi, a plush suburb of Lagos.
The owner of the property is to be among those feared trapped.
Possible cause of collapse and number of persons trapped are yet to be ascertained.
Building collapse has become an epidemic in Lagos.
In May 2020, a three-storey building on No.6 Olonode Street, Ebute Metta, Lagos, partially collapsed.
In November 2019, a two-storey building under construction collapsed in Lagos around Glover Court, Ikoyi, collapsed in the course of decking the second floor.
In August 2019, another two-storey structure collapsed in the Gbagada area of Lagos, barely two days after a two-storey building collapsed on Adio Street, Bariga.
In March 2019, about 10 pupils and a pregnant woman were killed when their school, Baden Schools, on Itafaji Street, near Adeniji Adele, Lagos, collapsed provoking global outrage.
Most of these collapses are attributed to the use of substandard materials.
Two years ago, a Lagos-based human rights and advocacy group, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) implored the governments of Lagos and Oyo states to take immediate action to address the numerous human rights impacts of the deadly and catastrophic building collapses in their respective states, including taking meaningful steps to avoid further damage to the human rights of the affected people.
The organization urged the states to ensure as a matter of priority, access of victims and their families to effective remedies in a transparent manner, specifically, access to justice, adequate compensation, reparation, and guarantees that incidents like such can never happen again.
