Two persons had been confirmed dead from a collapsed fence that happened in the slaughter section of the Lagos State Abattoir at Oko-Oba.

Also, eight others who were said to have sustained various degrees of injury had been treated at a hospital and discharged.

The incident reportedly occurred last Wednesday. The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of Abattoir Police Station, CSP Kenneth Iyayi, confirmed the incident to journalists on Monday.

Iyayi said that only two people died from the incident while eight others sustained various degrees of injury from the collapsed building.

Iyayi said that those that were injured were promptly taken to Merit Hosptal at Oko-Oba and the General Hospital, Ile-Epo in Oke-Odo area of Lagos State for treatment.

A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) who visited the scene observed that the debris of the collapsed fence were yet to be cleared while the ‘slaughtering of cows’ business was in progress.

Ishiaku Onatunde, a slaughterhouse worker, told newsmen on Monday that the incident that occured last Wednesday claiming the lives of people was due to the weakened foundation of the perimeter fence.

“Ideally, the government should have constructed the fence on a strong foundation knowing that we use a lot of water in our daily routine as slaughterers,” he said.

Onatunde said that the workers of the slaughterhouse had met with the management of the abattoir, Harmony Abattoir Investment Limited, to ask for compensation for the victims of the collapsed fence He, however, said that the managers of the abattoir said that the company had no resources on ground to compensate the victims.

Also, the Managing Director of Harmony Abattoir Investment, simply identified as Mr Bello confirmed the death of the persons as a result of the collapsed fence. Bello, however, said that he could not give more details about the situation, adding that that would be done by the Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture.

Meanwhile, the Head of the Public Affairs Office in the Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Jide Lawal, could not give an accurate account of the incident.

He said that he was not authorised to give details of the incident. Lawal said that he would have to be authorised by the state Commissioner for Agriculture before he could speak with the press on the matter.

He said that the commissioner was attending an important state executive meeting when newsmen visited the ministry. (NAN)

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