TheNewsGuru

Tag: Buildings

  • Demolished buildings in Enugu were kidnappers den – Govt officials

    Demolished buildings in Enugu were kidnappers den – Govt officials

    The Enugu State Government has refuted trending videos of alleged indiscriminate demolition of property at the Enugu Centenary City, saying the originators of the video tried to de-market the state for investment.

    Aka Eze Aka, the State Commissioner for Information, and the Executive Chairman, Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority (ECTDA), Mr Uche Anya, stated this when they took newsmen round the demolished building that housed suspected kidnappers on Saturday in Enugu.

    The government said it only demolished illegal and uncompleted structures, which served as kidnappers’ hideout, stressing that it was yet to demolish any of the unapproved structures in the area.

    They added that the action of the (ECTDA) in collaboration with security agencies underscored its commitment to the security of lives and property, protection of investments and contracts with investors.

    The duo were reacting to the trending video posted by a Social Media influencer on Saturday alleging that Enugu Government demolished over 200 buildings at Enugu Centenary City and appealed to Gov. Peter Mbah to stop further demolition of more property in the estate.

    Addressing newsmen, Aka said: “What we saw in the trending video today was an attempt by the originators to demarket Enugu State as an investment destination for Real Estate development.

    “But in reality the operation by ECTDA and the security agencies was a testament that government is resolved to rid the state of criminal elements and protect property rights and investments in the state.

    “You are all aware of the distance we travelled from the city to get to this place. The culprits did not only erect the structures without any title and approval, they got inside this place pretending to be doing block industry, whereas as you can see, they were into nefarious activities.”

    On the allegations by a content creator on the social media, the Commissioner said: “When the person, who was on the video began to talk about trying to destroy his house and so on, it is important to state that not one single building earmarked for demolition was touched.

    “This is because we also have a human feeling to allow these houses for them to be regularised; they just went about to recycle old videos where some property were destroyed by past administrations,” Aka said.

    On his part, Anya said the agency would not “succumb to blackmail, including recycling and trending of videos of past demolitions.”

    He explained that  ECTDA Law prohibited carrying out any development or municipal service within the capital territory without the written approval of the Authority.

    “For the avoidance of doubts, Section 13 (1) of the Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority Law, 2009, provides:

    “‘Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, as from the commencement of this Law, no person or body shall carry out any development or municipal service within the Capital Territory, unless such development or municipal service has been approved in writing by the Authority,” he said.

    He said the current ECTDA leadership was determined to stop unauthorised developments and carry on with the urban master plan restoration and renewal process, including those initiated by successive administrations.

    “We took the initiative to mark the affected property in October, 2023, issuing notices that should accord the developers a window to regularise their titles/properties, if any.

    “For emphasis, even though the notices had since expired, no unapproved but completed or occupied building was demolished during the exercise by ECTDA. We are still calling on the developers to do the right thing,” he said.

    He explained that the Jan. 19 operation was based on an intelligence report about an illegal property that served as kidnappers’ den at the Centenary City.

    He stressed that in the course of their due diligence, they found out that the property, like many others at Centenary City, had no title or approval from the appropriate authorities.

    “Although the building was not fully completed, the criminals had already mounted sophisticated surveillance equipment such as CCTV cameras, PTZ cameras, in addition to about two dozens of mobile phones denoting the dangerous level of sophistication.

    “As some of the videos already in public domain clearly show, we made some chilling discoveries on storming the property with security operatives, including several guns and suspected kidnappers, whom the security agents were able to apprehend,” he said.

  • Why we demolish buildings in Enugu Centenary City – ECTDA

    Why we demolish buildings in Enugu Centenary City – ECTDA

    The Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority (ECTDA), has said it demolished buildings at the Enugu Centenary City for lack of proper approval from the state government.

    Mr Uche Anya, the Executive Chairman, ECTDA, stated this on Saturday in Enugu while reacting to the online trending video alleging that Enugu Government  demolished over 200 buildings at the Centenary City.

    In the said video, a man was seen appealing to Gov. Peter Mbah to come to their aid and prevent further demolition of people’s investment.

    The man in the video alleged that he bought the land while the necessary documents were given to him and wondered why his building would be marked for demolition.

    “They asked us to come back home and this is what they are doing to us. This is my only building in Enugu and ECTDA marked it for demolition. They should tell us what to pay instead of demolishing our houses,” he said in the video.

    Reacting, Anya described the buildings demolished as illegal development without titles and approval from the Enugu State Government, adding that they were given notices to remove the illegal structures.

    He added that in the course of the demolition, the agency bursted into kidnappers in a building at the isolated part of the estate.

    Anya said kidnappers were arrested from the building while a lot of guns, 24 mobile phones, eight CCTV Cameras with SIM Cards were recovered from them and handed over to the police.

    “They are not discussion this one online,” Anya said.

    Explaining how the land came to be,an ECTDA staff who pleaded anonymity, told News Agency of (NAN), that Amechi community in Enugu South Council Area  gave the land to the then Old Anambra State Government.

    He stated that after the creation of Enugu State in 1991, the state inherited the land to build permanent site for Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT).

    “When the former governor of Enugu State, Chimaroke Nnamani was in power, he moved ESUT to Agbani and the state government converted the land  to Centenary City Estate.

    “Amechi and the neighbouring communities began to sell part of the land to individuals,” he said.

    He added that, “What we are saying is that those individuals should go to the government and obtain appropriate approval but they refused to do it.

    “And we demolished less than 30 buildings”.

    The demolition took place on Jan. 19.

  • [Video] Several persons trapped, as fire razes building in Lagos Island

    [Video] Several persons trapped, as fire razes building in Lagos Island

    Several people have reportedly been trapped in a building gutted by fire in Victoria Island area of Lagos state.

    In a video shared on social media, cars packed close to the building were in flames, as people made efforts to put out the fire, which was spreading.

    At the time of filing this report, firefighters were at the scene to calm the situation.

    More details later…

    See Video Below:

     

    View this post on Instagram

     

    A post shared by Media/News Company (@thenewsgurung)

  • BREAKING: Fuel tanker explodes, razes buildings in Ogun

    BREAKING: Fuel tanker explodes, razes buildings in Ogun

    Ten buildings were consumed by fire when a tanker laden with 45, 000 litres of Premium Motor Spirit crashed, spilling its content at Ifo in Ogun.

    A statement issued on Saturday in Lagos by Mr Ibrahim Farinloye, Zonal Coordinator, South West, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), said the incident occured at about 7.00 a.m. on Olambe Matogun Road, Ifo.

    “Though, no life was lost or anyone sustained injury, but about 10 buildings were consumed in the incident.

    “The situation was mitigated with most of the content spilling into the canal close to the scene.

    “This saved the community from serious incident that could have affected more people,” Farinloye said.

    The NEMA official, however, said the fire had been put out.

  • Lagos prepares for rainfall, demolishes distressed buildings

    Lagos prepares for rainfall, demolishes distressed buildings

    Lagos State Government has said it is increasing its efforts to reduce the incidences of building collapse as the rainy season approaches.

    It said no effort would be spared in getting rid of dilapidated buildings across the state.

    The General Manager, Lagos State Building Control Agency, Gbolahan Oki, said this during the demolition of distressed buildings located at, 17b, Odo Osun Street, Off Glover Street and 20 Omididun Street both on Lagos Island on Sunday.

    A statement from the Assitance Director /Public Affairs, LASBCA, Gbadeyan Bello, titled ‘Building collapse: LABSCA, LASPPPA intensify preparations ahead of rains… Demolish more distressed buildings on Lagos Island, others’ said.

    Oki said that the demolition exercise was scheduled for Sunday because of traffic congestion and for ease of moving the demolition equipment by the officials of the agency.

    He recalled that the occupants of the buildings had been served different notices since 2019 with a reminder notice sent to them two weeks ago to vacate the buildings in order not to continue to endanger their lives and that of their neighbours.

    The LABSCA boss stated, “We must begin to be very civil in our approaches to issues especially when it borders on human lives by not waiting until the worst happens.

    “I find it very hard to believe that some people could still be pleading with the occupants of this distressed building for more time from the government.”

    He expressed the hope that Lagosians would soon begin to follow the appropriate process of pulling down distressed buildings on their own without waiting for government to be spending tax payers’ money on mobilising equipment and human resources for building demolition.

    While saying that the demolition exercise would continue across different parts of the state, Oki advised Lagosians to always build safely and prioritise their individual as well as collective safety as that remain the major way of averting incessant building collapse.

    Also speaking during the demolition exercise, Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority District Officer for Lagos Island, Yemisi Alaka, said that the demolition exercise was in continuation of the exercise started by both LASBCA and LASPPPA some weeks ago.

    She explained that LABSCA had earlier identified several distressed buildings across the state for demolition following a survey carried out by the agency and the reports and information received from members of the public.

    She stated that the State Government identified some buildings that were about to give way, so rather than leaving the buildings to cause havoc, the identified buildings were marked for demolition by the agency to avert the tragedy of loss of lives when the rains start.

    She expressed concern that people were still living in the identified buildings in spite of warnings earlier issued and abatement notices served the occupants.

    This, she said, informed the decision of LABSCA in collaboration with LASPPPA to remove such buildings.

     

  • LASG seals 43 buildings at Airport road

    LASG seals 43 buildings at Airport road

    The Lagos State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development says it has sealed 43 buildings on Airport Road for violating the physical planning laws.

    Mukaila Sanusi, for the ministry, said in a statement on Thursday that the Commissioner, Dr Idris Salako, supervised the exercise on Wednesday.

    Salako said most of the buildings, including 13 banks and 13 hotels, were either built without planning permits or conformity to approval orders.

    He said that the area was an international gateway to Lagos State and must not be defaced with illegal developments, stressing that all physical development across the state must conform to the planning laws.

    “It is by enforcing strict compliance to laws and regulations that we can halt the pervasive incidence of illegal and unapproved buildings, protect the Operative Development Plans of Lagos State and sustain an orderly, organised and livable environment,” he said.

    Salako urged those buying or renting property to ensure that they had planning permits and Certificate of Fitness for habitation in order to avoid being sealed.

    He said the enforcement exercise was part of ongoing efforts to eradicate the menace of illegal buildings to sanitize the built environment of Lagos State.

    Also at the enforcement operations were the Special Adviser to the state governor on Urban Development, Mr Ganiyu Ayuba, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Mr Foluso Dipe, officials of the Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority (LASPPPA), Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) and Special Operations Team of the Governor’s Office.

  • Collapsed building: Ambode visits scene, vows to demolish buildings that fail integrity test

    Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode on Wednesday visited the scene of a three-storey building which collapsed in Ita Faaji area of Lagos Island, where he commiserated with families of victims who lost their lives, most of whom are children.

    The three-storey residential building, located at No 14, Massey Street, Opposite Oja, Ita-Faaji, housing a primary school on its pent house, caved in at about 10am on Wednesday morning trapping scores of pupils of the school in the process.

    Governor Ambode, who got to the scene of the incident at about 2:42pm, described the incident as unfortunate, however, appealing to residents to allow rescue operators the space to carry out their operations without any hinderance, so as to rescue more children still trapped under the rubbles.

    “I want to commiserate with the families of those that lost their lives in this collapsed building. I want to quickly let Lagosians know that this is quite an unfortunate incident. All we are trying to do is to scale up this rescue operation. Our response units are already here; we are getting additional cranes to be able to go deeper than where we are now to rescue more lives.

    “I just want to appeal to people that when we are doing this kind of rescue operation, yes, sympathizers will naturally come but I want to appeal that they should give the rescue workers the chance to save more lives,” he said.

    The Governor said his Deputy, Dr. Mrs. Oluranti Adebule, had also visited the hospitals where some of the victims rescued had been taken to, assuring that the State Government would immediately take over their treatment and foot their entire bill.

    “The Deputy Governor is in the hospital actually taking care of those that were rescued and taken to the hospital most especially the children. On the part of government, we would immediately take care of whatever it is that we can do, including the hospital bills.

    “All we are interested in now is to save more lives and also see how those that have been rescued are put in proper place and proper care,” he said.

    Giving a brief of the situation, the Governor said he had received information that the building was a residential one, with the school operating illegally within the premises, adding that about two floors of the building sunk to the ground.

    He said most of the buildings in the area had been marked for demolition, but that some property owners in the area defy such notices, assuring that going forward, structural defective buildings would be demolished.

    “The first observation is that this is an old building and it is only the Pent House and the other floors that we have been able to use to rescue people.

    “So far, from what I have been briefed, we have rescued about 25 people and some already dead but we were earlier informed that it was a school, the building is not technically a school, it is a residential building that was actually accommodating an illegal school so to speak on the second floor.

    “Like we have said, we have been carrying out a lot if integrity tests on the buildings in this neighborhood and as you can see, some of them have been marked for demolition but we get resistance from landlords but we must continue to save lives and we would intensify our efforts to see that those have failed our integrity test, we would ensure that they are quickly evacuated and we bring the structures down,” he said.

    Governor Ambode also said that a full scale investigation would be carried out immediately rescue operations are concluded, vowing that those found culpable would be severely dealt with in accordance with the relevant laws.

    “This is unfortunate but we will investigate what has happened and also see the punishment for whoever are the culprits. That is the secondary level but the most important thing right now is to save lives and I just appeal to people that they should give us the chance to save more lives,” he said.

    He assured that rescue operations would continue until all victims are rescued, adding that the General Officer Commanding 81 Division and the Brigade Commander were on ground to maintain peace and ensure smooth rescue operations.

    “That is what is important to us and the more lives we save, the better for us,” he said.

    Responding to a concern raised by a resident on the increase in illegal schools in the area, Governor Ambode said all schools that fall within that category would be closed down.

     

  • Boko Haram restrategises, constructs buildings on Lake Chad for meetings

    The Nigerian Air Force has said that its intelligence revealed that the Boko Haram terrorists erected buildings in the Daban Masara area on the Lake Chad in Borno State, holding regular meetings.

    The air force however said on Saturday that its Alpha Jet aircraft and an Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance platform have bombed the two buildings sighted, and killed two terrorists sighted.

    The Alpha Jet was deployed by the Air Task Force of Operation Lafiya Dole on Friday when the terrorists were sighted holding a meeting in green-roofed buildings at Daban Masara area.

    It was gathered that the fighter aircraft dropped bombs on the Boko Haram structures with scores of the terrorists believed to have been killed in the operation.

    The NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, who confirmed the air attacks, said Daban Masara was one of the identified terrorist flashpoints on the Lake Chad.

    He said, “The Air Task Force on August 3 conducted an attack on a Boko Haram hideout in Daban Masara, Borno State. The strikes were conducted after credible intelligence indicated that remnants of terrorists on the Lake Chad islands hid in settlements at the lake.

  • Return all Lagos lands, buildings in your care, Ambode tells Fashola

    Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State on Tuesday asked his predecessor and Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, to use his office to ensure that the federal government releases all the disused and disputed assets to the state government.

    The governor noted that some of the properties were in a dilapidated and wasteful state.

    Ambode explained that such properties were needed to further develop the state and bring about a positive change in the lives of Lagosians.

    “They are no longer in use for the purpose the apex government acquired it”, Ambode said at the State House after receiving the report of the Special Committee on Federal Government Assets in Lagos State.

    The committee chaired by former Federal Commissioner for Works, Chief Femi Okunnu, comprised a human rights activist, Femi Falana, a Simmons Cooper partner, Mrs. Victoria Alonge and Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Lands Bureau, Olabode Agoro, among others.

    Ambode recalled that Fashola was a passionate advocate of the issue during his tenure as Governor, adding that now that he is a representative of Lagos State in the Federal Executive Council (FEC), he should use his office to return the assets.

    His words: “The report of the committee has come at a time when the state government is in dire need of space for development projects that would improve the socio-economic wellbeing of its residents in line with the socio-economic realities of present times.”

    “We hope this initiative will end the long standing dispute between the federal and state governments over the disused lands, buildings and disputed quarters in various parts of the state.

    “These assets are no longer in use for the purposes for which they were originally released to the federal government. We are hopeful this report will get favorable response from the federal government now that these assets are no longer in use for the purposes they were acquired.”

    After submitting the report, Okunnu expressed sadness over the current status of the Federal Secretariat in Lagos and other abandoned assets of the federal government in the state, noting that the assets be returned to the state government for effective and proper usage.

    He said the assets “are not only quarters, but the land on which these buildings are situated. We have tried to argue that the whole of Ikoyi with boundary at Lagos Canal standing between Ikoyi Island and Lagos Island.”

    Okunnu added that title to the whole of the Islands “is vested in the Government of Lagos State when Lagos became Crown Colony. Title to the whole of Ikoyi including Osborn Foreshore, Banana Island is vested in the government of Lagos State. We have other areas we have covered.

    “The state owned Festac Town. The title to the town is vested in the government of Lagos State. Federal Housing Authority (FHA) is the tenant of the Government of Lagos State indeed. Also, the title to the Trade Fair site is vested in Lagos State.

    “The government of Lagos State acquired the Land of the Trade Fair site. But the federal government gave a promise to pay the state compensation which was to be paid to the original owners of the land. That compensation was not paid,” Okunnu noted.

    He added that title to Satellite Town too “is vested in Lagos State. It is the federal government which should prove title to any land, which it claims to own in Lagos State. The land on which the International Trade Fair Complex was situated was acquired for the purpose of the trade fair, but the place had been turned into market.

    “Federal Secretariat gives me sadness because I built it when I was the Federal Commissioner for Works. The land upon which federal secretariat is situated is part of the Crown land, which is now state land.

    “The title to the Crown land is vested in Lagos State. But Brigadier Mobolaji Johnson agreed to release that land to the federal government when they wanted to build federal secretariat.

    “We hope that discussions between Lagos State Government and federal government on hand over of federal lands, state lands within Lagos and disuse or surplus lands which federal government, especially defence and prisons are still occupying in Lagos are resolved.

    “Large parcels of the land are now surplus to what is required under the land. We hope that discussions between Lagos State and federal governments will be held to settle this palaver once and for all.”