Criticisms are continuing to trail the composition of panel set up by the Lagos State government to investigate the remote cause of ikoyi collapse building.
A legal practitioner, Seyi Clement faulted the composition of the panel and offered other suggestions.
He is particularly not happy that a retired high court judge is not a member of the panel of enquiry.
In his opinion, it’s a waste of time in arresting the menace of the corruptive and toxic relationship between builders and the Lagos State government.
He said this is the minimum needed to investigate the Ikoyi tragedy, expose and exterminate bottlenecks that could save lives and restore confidence in the real estate market.
The legal practitioner practising in UK and Lagos therefore ask Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to implement the four steps as a matter of urgency.
Clement recommends: (1) A moratorium on construction of buildings above four (4) floors to all integrity testing to be carried out on the buildings before resumption of work.
(2) An immediate commissioning of integrity testing on all buildings over 4 floors.
(3) The immediate inauguration of an independent Judicial Penal of enquiry, chaired by a retired High Court Judge, supported by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, and other building professionals, including, Building Engineers, Architects, Structural Engineers and Health & Safety experts.
(4) An immediate review of the accident and emergency capacity and procedure in cases of this nature, given that reports suggest that it took the accident and emergency service more than 3 hours to arrive, and when they finally did, they were ill-equipped for the type of operation required, no sniffer dogs or heat sensory equipment to determine location of people was available. It was also alleged that rescue workers took a 5 hour break on the first day, rather than work in shift to ensure continuous rescue operation, given the exigency of the situation. This suggests lack of capacity and preparedness.
He recalled that the panel which is made up of a town planner, an architect, a builder and two civil servants with no power to compel attendance of witnesses, order the production of documents, or take evidence under oath, leaves a lot to be desired, considering that the Governor, and the Deputy Governor are both potential witnesses in such an enquiry.
The Peoples Democratic Party member said, “The panel as presently constituted is nothing but a toothless bulldog, a charade and a ploy to simply befuddle Lagosians.”
Re-echoing the citizens’ concerns, Mr. Clement noted, “Lagosians demand an end to the perennial loss of lives caused by collapsing buildings under this administration, which should have led prosecutions for corporate manslaughter, had this administration not been complicit in the maladministration of building control regulations in the State, bedevilled by corruption and political interferences.”
Citing a BBC report, the lawyer said of the 152 buildings that have collapsed in Lagos from 2005 to 2020, 75% were residential buildings.
He said, “These tragedies have claimed more than 670 lives, including the 150 + lost in the collapse of the Synagogue Church building in 2014.
“Enough is enough. The corruptive and toxic relationship between builders and the Lagos State government must be exposed and exterminated to save lives and restore confidence in the real estate market,” he said.
Faulting the composition of the the panel for lacking any judicial officer such as a retired High Court Judge, the legal practitioner practising in UK and Lagos insisted that an independent judicial enquiry headed by a retired High Court Judge, with the powers of the High Court of Justice would be able to subpoena witnesses and documents required for an investigative mission.
