Ita-Faaji collapsed building: LASG receives panel report

Lagos State government on Thursday received a report of the five-man panel set up to investigate the immediate and remote causes of the collapsed three-storey building on 63, Massey Street, Ita-Faaji axis of Lagos Island, promising to implement recommendations as contained in the report.

This was just as the panel headed by Wasiu Olokuonla, an engineer, indicated in its report that the collapsed building was five-storey and not three-storey as earlier reported.

It would be recalled that the building, which was also used for school, caved in, claiming 20 lives, including pupils of Ohen Nursery and Primary School.

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The State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Prince Rotimi Ogunleye, while receiving the report, disclosed that more distressed buildings had been detected across the state by the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), urging residents to alert the government on suspected weak buildings.

The commissioner, however, said that not all the affected buildings might have to be demolished after they undergo non-destructive structural integrity test, adding that some might only require structural re-engineering works.

Speaking essentially on the panel report, the commissioner assured that the Governor Akinwunmi Ambode-led administration would ensure the document was carefully studied and recommendations implemented.

Earlier while presenting the report, the panel Chairman, Olokuonla, who refused to disclose the committee’s findings and recommendations publicly, disclosed that forensic evidence was carried out, among others in the course of the investigations into the cause of building collapse tragedy.