•Agency’s spokesperson: I’m not aware, will investigate

Residents of Odo Ogbe in Onike Yaba, Lagos, were thrown into confusion, yesterday, following demolition of their buildings, allegedly by the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), less than 24 hours after officials had marked the houses.

The residents, who werseen outside the torn down structures, called on the Lagos State government to investigate the matter and prosecute the officials involved.

The Guardian noted that the buildings were marked on December 7, 2023, at about 5:30 p.m., and demolished the following day, at about 2:05 p.m. While rooms in some buildings were spared, all the rooms in a building belonging to 85-year-old architect, Sunday Kukoyi, were pulled down.

It was gathered that LASBCA official stormed the area, accompanied by officers of the Lagos State police task force and anti-riot police officers. Adesegun, son of the 85-year-old architect, told The Guardian: “I was at work, when I got a call from my younger brother about the presence of LASBCA officials. Upon getting home, I met the officials, at around 5:30 p.m., marking the buildings.

“The next day, they stormed the area with the police task force while I was sleeping. The officials banged on our door and forced it open. As they were demolishing, we rushed to get some of our belongings. The television and laptops were destroyed.”

He added: “Everything went down within two hours. It was two hours of trauma, mental stress and panic. They came here for illegal operations, rushing to bring down the buildings, and then left in haste. They left after more people came out to question the reason for their action. They didn’t give any reason; we were not served or given time.”

Tony Fasanmi, another resident, whose house was also demolished, said: “I wasn’t around when my building was marked. On my way home, I saw the officials at the junction and wondered why they were in my area. The following day, they came to demolish the building with a team of anti-riot policemen. We have been thrown out of our homes. We need government’s intervention.

When The Guardian reached out to LASBCA’s Public Relations Officer, Olaoye Olusegun, he said: “I am not aware of the demolition. I will investigate the action.” (The Guardian)

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