LAGOS, Niger Republic — The authorities stated Tuesday that construction on a high-rise building that collapsed Monday in Lagos, killing at least 20 people, had been suspended earlier this year when inspectors discovered “abnormalities.”
According to Lagos State Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat, the 21-story tower was roped off in June after failing to meet structural criteria.
Mr. Hamzat said workers were recently allowed to resume work on the high-rise, but it was no longer a building site on Tuesday but rather a rescue scenario. The structure had collapsed into a mass of concrete the day before.
Government officials, security police, and volunteers descended on the location as family cried and huddled close, waiting for news of their loved ones.
Mr. Hamzat did not say what issues the inspectors discovered caused the construction to be suspended.
“They discovered certain irregularities,” he explained, “so they shut it down to repair those things.”
However, Gbolahan Oki, the Lagos State Building Control Agency head, said that the developer utilized substandard materials in the building. Mr. Oki told the media, “The materials he utilized, the reinforcement, are so bad.”
Fourscore Homes, a Lagos-based real estate developer, was building the high-rise as one of three. Attempts to reach Femi Osibona, the company’s managing director, for comment were unsuccessful. A Fourscore phone line was also “no longer in service,” according to callers.
The building that fell was being constructed on Gerrard Road in Lagos’ upmarket Ikoyi area, Nigeria’s commercial capital. The scenery includes high-rise residences and expensive duplexes.
The accident has reignited debate over a series of recent building failures in Nigeria’s fast-expanding financial sector.
On Tuesday, the Lagos State government announced the formation of an independent commission comprised of professional engineering and architecture organizations to investigate the latest disaster. As a first step, Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu declared that Mr. Oki, the head of the building control department, had been suspended indefinitely.
Officials stated that the investigation would be thorough.
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In a statement, Gbenga Omotoso, the Lagos State Commissioner for information and strategy, said, “We wish to state that there would be no cover-up in the hunt for the truth in this tragedy.”
Mr. Omotoso and Usman Alkali Baba, the Inspector General of Police, stated that anyone found guilty will be prosecuted.
As of Tuesday, 20 people had died as a result of the fall. However, according to Lagos State officials, nine persons had been rescued, all of whom were men.
Heavy rains hampered the search-and-rescue efforts on Monday night, but excavators were back at work on Tuesday, digging through the rubble.
President Muhammadu Buhari’s special adviser, Femi Adesina, issued a statement saying that the president “commiserates with families who have lost loved ones.”
Gerrard Road was closed to vehicular traffic on Tuesday. However, behind a barricade, a swarm of citizens, including families of the missing, thronged the area and expressed their displeasure with the rescue attempts.
The officials said that an assistance station would be set up for individuals looking for information about the missing.
However, some in the crowd were dissatisfied with the rescue operations and attempted to assist them. They were apprehended by security personnel.
“Those folks rushed us out; they wouldn’t let us work,” a man identified only as Samson recalled, recalling how he was among the first to respond when the building collapsed.
“We went in, and they chased us out,” he explained. “They’re ruining everything,” says the narrator.