It was a lucky escape for many patients, visitors and staff of Godfrey Hospital at Plot 35/54, Kofo Kasimu Street, Lakeview Estate Phase 1, in Amuwo Odofin GRA, Lagos, when an adjacent building caved into the hospital premises.

Many people took to their heels while patients were relocated to other rooms as the rubbles filled some rooms and offices close to the building.

The owner of the hospital, who spoke through her solicitor, Mr Vincent Ananti, at a press conference in his office, said: ‘The house beside us, Sweet Seasons, is a hospitality home. The owner had finished erecting the building and moved in as approved by the government, but he kept on building illegally on top of the approved legal building. I raised the alarm that he should stop the illegal penthouse he was adding on top of his building as it might collapse on the hospital, but he insisted that he must go ahead with the construction work.

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“I didn’t relent as I went to Lagos State Building Control Agency and the General Manager of the agency sent some staff to the place after which they marked the illegal structure for demolition, but after some time, the owner of the building started construction work again. I then wrote a petition to the agency,” he said.

A petition addressed to the Honourable Commissioner of Physical Planning and Urban Development, Alausa, Ikeja, Ananti of UN Chkwuma and Co, and made available stated: that “I hereby humbly apply to your office to use its’s power and authority to stop and remove encroachment on my fence by the owner of land sharing fence with me. I have personally tried to stop him many times without success.

“My fear came to the fore penultimate Wednesday during heavy rainfall when a windstorm destroyed the illegal structure and the wall caved into the hospital where patients, staff and visitors escaped death by divine intervention. The rubbles and the zink are still on the hospital premises. Imagine the magnitude of embarrassment the hotel would have caused me if the rubbles that caved in had killed someone or many people.

“I am calling on Governor Babajde Sanwo-Olu to come to my rescue and save my hospital from being totally destroyed by another man who is still constructing an illegal structure. I am begging the Government to take action now and not when lives have been lost. With the rate at which the building is collapsing in the state, the government should look into my complaints. I have no power to stop a person who is disobeying the law. The only power I have is to call the attention of the government and authorities that are concerned to do the needful. Let the government do justice to my complaints,” the petition said. (Courtesy, excluding headline, Daily Sun)

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