The developer of the three-storey building that collapsed in the Yaba area of Lagos has been arrested by the authorities of the state government.
The state’s building control agency accused the developer of violating a stop-work order which the agency said was given to him twice last year.
BusinessDay had, in an earlier report, stated that the building suffered partial collapse last year, citing an eyewitness account on the collapsed building.
“On two occasions last year, we told the developer to stop work on the building, but he did not,” an official of the building control agency, said at the scene of the incident.
The official who did not want to be named wondered why most Nigerians don’t listen to authority, affirming that part of the building had collapsed before and he was told
to stop work.
Read also: Another building collapse in Lagos kills 2 as rescue operation continues
Idris Salako, the state commissioner for physical planning and urban development, confirmed the arrest of the developer in a statement titled, ‘Onike Building Collapse: LASG Rescues Survivor, Arrests Developer’,
The commissioner revealed that preliminary findings indicated that the site had been sealed off twice by the building control agency in 2021 for non-compliance with building regulations after which the site was abandoned.
“However, the developer later broke government seal, sneaked into the site and re-commenced construction without official authorisation.
“The developer in charge of the site has since been arrested and handed over to the RRS Team, while rescue operation is ongoing,” the commissioner disclosed.
