All the six people trapped in early Sunday morning collapse of a seven-story building in Lekki, Lagos have now been confirmed dead.
This is also the State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr Idris Salako, has resigned his appointment over the incident, just as Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has accepted the resignation.
The resignation of Salako is not unconnected with the spate of building collapses in the state, as his office is directly responsible for constructions of new structures and inspection of existing ones.
The high-rise building which caved in early Sunday morning is located on Oba Idowu Oniru Street, beside Ave Maria Hospital in the SandField area of Lekki Phase One, in Lagos.
According to the Permanent Secretary, LASEMA, Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, LASEMA, in a statement same Sunday, two bodies were pulled out from the rubble of the collapsed building, while four more remain trapped.
This is also as the agency’s boss, disclosed that rescue operations have at the site.
“Situation report on the collapsed building at Oba Idowu Oniru Street beside Ave Maria Hospital.
“The agency responded to a distress call at the above mentioned location and activated its response plan. Upon arrival at the scene, an uncompleted seven-storey building undergoing construction was found to have collapsed.
“Six people are reported to be trapped under the rubble of the collapsed structure. Two bodies have been located and recovered thus far. Operation ongoing.
However, Oke-Osanyintolu has in an update, Monday, confirmed that all six presumably trapped inside the collapsed building have died.
The LASEMA boss said the sixth body was recovered at about 2.33p.m, Monday.
Three additional bodies were recovered earlier on Monday, while the fourth was recovered at about 2.33p.m., which brought the death toll to six.
“The Agency alongside other first responders has been working for over 24 hours at the site seven-storey building which collapsed yesterday (Sunday).
“Another four bodies have been extricated from the rubble, bringing the fatalities to six.
“The painstaking process is ongoing,” Osanyintolu said.
The Coordinator, Lagos Territorial District, National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, Ibrahim Farinloye, corroborated Osanyintolu saying six bodies have been recovered so far.
Meanwhile, following a spate of building collapse incidents in the state in recent weeks, the Lagos Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr Idris Salako, has dramatically tendered his resignation letter.
Already, the State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has accepted the resignation of Salako.
Confirming the development, the state’s Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, announced this in a statement on Monday.
“This is a prelude to the restructuring of the Ministry and its agencies.
“Governor Sanwo-Olu thanks the Commissioner for his services to the State and wishes him success in his future endeavours.
“The Governor warns all players in the sector to respect the law or face the consequences of any indiscretion, no matter who the perpetrators are.”
The dramatic resignation by Salako is also being commended as unprecedented in governance in the country.