A six storey building under construction in Synagogue of all
Nations Ikotun Egbe ,Lagos collapsed leaving at least 17 people dead and
several others seriously injured.
May the souls of those who lost their lives rest in Peace; i
wish those in the hospital quick recovery.
The collapse of the building has raised a lot of controversies;
the founder of the Church Pastor T.B Joshua attributed the cause of the
building collapse to terror attack by citing a plane that allegedly hovered in
the sky around the building before the incident. Some people attribute it to
the standard of material used and many more.
We attribute it to ‘whether the appropriate authority in
charge of Building materials played their role in ensuring they comply with the
rules and regulation of construction in the state................are you
surprised to hear there is an agency in charge of that? Please read on.
The rate at which buildings
collapse especially in the raining season is so alarming leaving so many people
dead; there is a mandatory Insurance policy that must be put in place before
constructing any building no matter the size. Whoever violates this law shall
face the wrath of Law but how far can the insurance go on this especially when
it involves lives. Read my previous post on mandatory Insurance Policy. Any
building that involves more than two storeys must get an insurance covering it.
The Lagos State law on Building
control is the LAGOS STATE URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING DEVELOPMENT BILL 2010.This
law is designed to curb the incessant collapse of building in the state.
Section 74 of the Lagos State Urban and Regional Planning Law,
2010 states that any property of
structure that collapse due to negligence on the part of the owner or
developer, such property is said to be forfeited to the state government. BE
WARNED.
In order to avoid collapse of
buildings, the state government established the Lagos State Building Control
Agency, this is an agency to ensure the enforcement of building control regulations
and that all those building above one storey must come with insurance policy
before the building approval is given. This agency is responsible for the
material evaluation and testing, fire and public health control, conducting of research
in building constructions, certification of different stages in building construction
and record keeping, removal of illegal and non-conforming buildings, issuance
of certificate of completion and fitness for habitation.
Section 71 of the Law empowers
the agency to serve on a developer or holder for the time being of a planning
permit, a demolition notice if a structure erected by the developer or holder
of the permit is found to be defective as to pose danger or constitute a
nuisance to the occupier or public and permit it to demolish such property.
Law is no respecter of any man,
BE WARNED
Thank you.
Oyenike Alliyu-Adebiyi LLB(hons)BL
Nice write up, but my question is, is this agency functional? Nigeria has so many good laws which if properly and effectively implemented will go a long way in our quest for change as a nation. However, Nigeria as we all know is a corrupt nation. The officials of these regulatory agencies are more often than not bribed.
ReplyDeleteThe Law is in force, that is why you see walls of sites crossed with red ink,it shows. They are yet to get the necessary permit.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the news the church's engineers did not get necessary permit, they shall be brought to book.
Thanks for your time.Mowunmi