Police Arrests Contractor of Lekki Collapsed Building as Death Toll Rises to 34

The collapsed building scene as rescue continues

Speaking with the News agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Lagos, Lagos State Police spokesperson, SP Oladapo Badmus, has disclosed that the command has arrested Odofin Taiwo, the contractor handling the Lekki building which collapsed few days ago, adding that he was currently under investigation.

Mchael Akindele, the general manager of Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) has also confirmed that the death toll from the building collapse had risen to 30 as of 4:00pm on Wednesday, adding that as at 12.40 pm today, 13 other people was rescued too.



"As we speak, we have been able to rescue 13 people alive, and unfortunately, 30 others have been brought out dead. The operation is still ongoing, and I want to commend all the security agencies that have ensured the protection of the rescue operatives."

Meanwhile, the Standard Organisation (SON) led by its Director, Inspectorate and Complaint, Bede Obayi, inspected the collapsed building and others under construction in the area. He ordered for the collection of the different building materials used for the collapsed building such as iron rods, blocks, sand, granites and sea water for laboratory analysis.

"The first thing in a house is the block; from the ones we have examined here, it has failed the test. The construction of this building is not up to 50 metres from the sea, showing that this land was reclaimed from the sea.

There are conditions for reclaiming a land from the sea and the kind of building materials to be used in such lands. "We have to examine all the materials used for this building and see if they meet the condition. You need to also see that the right professionals handled the building project. If you use the best materials without the right professionals handling the materials, things will still go wrong.

"You must be a registered professional engineer for you to handle this type of project. If you want to build, you must look for a professional. We are going to investigate all the structures and materials in this environment."

Sourced- Ogbeta