It was a gloomy day on Basil Chibueze Close, Abule-oshun area of Lagos State as occupied houses were brought down by officials from the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA).
The officials stormed Abule-oshun bus stop at about 8:30a.m., in three vehicles. Passersby who saw them did not know the damage that would ensue as the demolition started with an uncompleted building.
Witnesses said that they initially wanted to start with a completed building, but when they asked for the building plan and were shown it, they went to an uncompleted building while the owner was trying to get the documents. They stopped when he brought the document.
One of the demolished buildings was occupied by a woman who had just given birth to twins barely two months ago. She was forced to run out of the building with her twins while the demolition was ongoing.
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They were not allowed to pick any of their belongings. From the part that wasn’t demolished, one could see house hold items, such as a fan when looking up.
At least six buildings were demolished, two uncompleted buildings and four buildings, including a mini field or stadium. Every other building on the street, except one which had in its front, ‘military zone, keep off’ was marked yesterday, and residents were told that they would be coming back soon.
One of the residents whose building was marked expressed sadness and confusion. He stated that they had previously marked the demolished buildings in September. He said that those that were marked were asked to prepare their building approval aas they would be coming back soon.
When contacted, the Director of the Public Affairs Unit, LASBCA, Mr Adu Ademuyiwa, said most of the structures have been served and they are distressed structures.
Asked why they did not engage the stakeholders before the demolition, Mr Ademuyiwa, said that the practice is that when a building has been served and it is visible that they are in a distress state, they will not wait until the building collapses before taking action.
He added that they had gone there before now to speak to them before the demolition.
Asked why the demolition was done while a mother with her two-month old twins was inside, Mr Ademuyiwa said it was not possible as they always tell people to go out before demolition.
According to him, most of these houses have been in a highly distressed state. They have been served more than three months ago and they are still begging for an extension, who will allow that.
“I want you to realise that no building will tell you that I am coming down today, and Lagos State cherishes safety of lives of every individual, that is why we say they should not wait till the house collapses. This is the rainy period, most of the houses that are not strong enough will come down. Before the demolition today, we asked them to go and do the material testing, that is Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) of their houses,” he said.
