The Lagos State government says it will demolish 17 “distressed” buildings being used for commercial purposes within the Alaba international market in Ojo Local government area of the state.
Gbolahan Oki, general manager of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), announced the planned demolition during an assessment visit to the market, on Friday.
According to Oki, the planned demolition was meant to save lives, adding that the state government valued the lives of residents more than the cost of any property.
The General manager said the occupants had received multiple notices since 2016, but rather than take the required measures, chose to physically harass LASBCA’s officials.
He added that seven years’ notification was enough for the occupants of the buildings marked for demolition to have vacated the structures and comply with the notices issued by LASBCA and other government agencies.
“These buildings marked within this Alaba International Market would have been included in the list of 349 distressed building earlier published in different national newspapers this year but because the occupants were always harassing our officers, it was impossible to capture the details of the structures and include them in the publication.
“The demolition of the distressed buildings within the ALABA International Market has become an urgent and essential task due to the potential hazards they present to nearby structures and the safety of the market’s business community, he said.
