Four days after (Nov. 4) a 21-storey building crashed recently in one of Lagos’ most expensive real estate locations, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the state’s governor, stood in front of cameras and made promises to angry, frustrated families over loved ones caught up in the building collapse.
One of them was that some of the bodies would be available for identification. The next day, his commissioner for information, Gbenga Omotosho, took it up a notch, “Some bodies are ready for identification. So, people can go to IDH, Yaba from 4 p.m. to identify the bodies of their loved ones,” he said with commendable empathy, “some of the bodies that may be very difficult to identify, a DNA test will be done for such bodies to be identified.”
BusinessDay has learnt that while families have identified their dead, they are still asked to do a deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) test which is stalling their efforts to retrieve the bodies for burial.
One Fidelis Komgbenda said he was asked to do a DNA test on November 8, after identifying the body of his relative who died in the building collapse. But he is yet to be allowed to take his relative’s remains back to Benue State despite doing the test.
Read also: Ikoyi building collapse: One incident too many
“I don’t know when they would let us take my brother. I’ve reached out to them but the number is not going through,” he said.
From Benue, Komgbenda is worried about the state of things because his stay in Lagos is becoming increasingly difficult, as he is running low on cash, finds accommodation challenging, and wakes up somedays with no hope of eating anything.
“I’m not finding it easy. He laments bitterly on a phone call. “I’m thinking of going back to Benue State but I don’t have enough resources. I don’t know what to do.”
Another family member who did not want his name to be mentioned in this report said the DNA test has been conducted, adding that the authorities promised to reach out to him on the result but have not done so yet.
How families struggled to find their relatives
Komgbenda, (mentioned earlier) a transport worker, has been finding it tough getting access to the remains of his nephew who he identified as David.
His nephew, David, 25, was among the victims of the ill-fated Ikoyi Hightower that caved in on November 1.
Before his tragic death, the youth who wanted to be an engineer, moved to Abuja to stay with Komgbenda who got him a job as an apprentice in an aluminium firm in Abuja in support of his nephew’s dreams.
Komgbenda said David was working as an apprentice until, his boss, a man identified as Gbenga, took him out for a job outside Abuja. This job happened to be a 21-storey building which has been reduced to rubbles by causes yet to be known.
“When he told me that he would be coming down to Lagos, I told him that I heard that Lagos is a dangerous place, that he should take care himself and not go beyond his jurisdiction,” Komgbenda said—his last words to his nephew.
His search for David began at 2 a.m. on November 5, when he and two others arrived in Lagos from Abuja, joining other families in search of their dead, following news of the collapse.
But government processes have stalled his effort, as he got only assurances, despite providing details of his brother and his picture to state officers concerned.
He was assured at the site of the crash that his body had been recovered and was in the mortuary and that the state government had taken steps towards the issue.
“He just finished his diploma and apprenticeship. I’m not happy at all. I never expected what happened to my brother. I’m expecting his corpse to take it back to the village,” Komgbenda intoned.
The 21-storey building owned by Femi Osibona collapsed on November 1. Over 40 persons were crushed to death, including Osibona, while 15 survived with injuries.
Over 40 persons were also reported missing. The event attracted relatives of victims to visit the location as hope thinned out on each day of the rescue operation.
As upsetting as the collapse, the tears and anger expressed by victims’ relatives added to the sadness of the entire unfortunate event. Relatives were seen crying and making efforts to run into the rubbles to see things up close.
Other times, they just stood by and waited for their fate, like Ekene Iwuoha.
“We met in Lagos and became friends, if not brothers,” Iwuoha said, hanging around the information centre set up at the collapse site.
Iwuoha too has also been looking for the corpse of his friend-turned brother. He and the victim, identified as Chima, used to work together at the building and earned a wage of N2,000 daily.
He told BusinessDay that he left the job last year but Chima continued.
Iwuoha is not the victim’s biological relative, but a close friend who is doing his best to find his friend. He had followed the procedures for reporting missing persons. But, at the time of the interview, he was still waiting for the authorities to give feedback on the situation with his friend.
“They told us that they took many of them to the morgue,” Ekene said. “If he’s dead, I’m hoping to find him. I’ll keep trying and if I don’t see him, I can let go. I don’t have contacts of his family members.”
From conversations with families, BusinessDay gathered that the victims who are mostly labourers are between 17 to 25 years, and this includes Linda Kejind’s cousin who also fell victim to the incident.
Kejind who had also come to Lagos from Abuja with her sister was less concerned when she heard the news of the incident. Unknown to her, it hit home.
“It was on Tuesday I heard about the incident and I didn’t think it’d affect me like this. I’m hoping that they bring him out alive or dead,” she said.
Her brother, a 25-years-old man, whose name she did not mention, joined one of the companies that worked on the building.
Kejind also kept visiting the site in hopes of finding her cousin. She had also been to several hospitals in search of him, including the general hospital on the Island where she saw six people but did not see her brother. She also went to the Police Hospital in Falomo, but he was still not there.
“So, I’m waiting for the governor who said that they would take us to the morgue where the 32 bodies (of as then) were taken to so that we can check for the corpse. If we don’t see him, we know what to do and if we see him, we know what to do,” she said, throwing glances at her sister who was wary of journalists.
Addressing journalists at the scene on November 4, governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu said the bodies were undergoing autopsy and a corona inquest investigation and would be made available to families once the necessary investigations are completed.
So far, this promise has been kept, but the DNA test has now deemed a bulwark to families seeking to cart away bodies of their dead as results are yet to be announced.
BusinessDay gathered that one of the reasons for the delay is that the state’s forensic lab was destroyed during the End SARS protest which morphed into violence across the state.
But the process is said to be on, and the government has paid for an expedited process that will take between seven and 10 days instead of four weeks, BusinessDay learnt.
“Almost all [bodies] need DNA. The collection has a legal process. The government is doing everything to simplify the process. Government is supporting with logistics (sic)families who need help to transport or bury their dead,” Omotosho said.
On the search and rescue mission initiated by the emergency department of the state, BusinessDay has also learnt that the authorities have moved beyond it and are now clearing the debris.
“There is nothing like rescue mission again. We’re clearing the rubbles and it will soon end,” said Ibrahim Farinloye, acting coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
