Lagos demolishes 500-Room Estate, leaving residents homeless

Residents of the 500-room Agboye Estate in Lagos, Nigeria, are mourning the state government’s demolition of their partially collapsed homes.

The demolition began on Wednesday, two days after a section of the school-turned-residential building collapsed following a downpour.

Residents accused the owner of the estate, Mr. Onome Agboye, of not informing them of the notice to evacuate the building.

The Ikosi-Isheri Local Council Development Area (LCDA) served an abatement of nuisance notice to the estate in 2021 over its breach of the state’s Environmental Sanitation Law 2003.

According to Dialy Trust, documents show that the local government, through the state’s Ministry of Works and Environment, served three warning notices to the estate’s owner, but he failed to comply.

The last notice, dated June 14, 2023, contained three infringements, including a dilapidated building wall liable to collapse and detrimental to the health of the occupants.

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A resident, Raymond Ijele, said the owner did not inform them about the abatement nuisance notice, lamenting that many had been rendered homeless.

“Some of them went to the churches. Thank God for the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), some people’s property are there. My own property are in my neighbour’s place. My wife, my four-month-old baby and other children are there,” he said.

The residents accused the estate owner for not informing them of the nuisance notice and lamented that they could not secure other apartments due to the high cost of accommodation in the state.

Meanwhile, the Councilor representing Ward E in Ikosi-Isheri LCDA, Aderogba Gbadegoke, told Daily Trust that the local government issued several notices to the owner about the possibility of a collapse.

He explained that the building used to house a business institute before it was gradually converted to a residential estate.

The demolition of the Agboye Estate is a reminder of the dangers of living in dilapidated buildings. It is also a reminder of the need for the government to enforce building codes and regulations more strictly.