UPDATE: Fourscore Homes to face prosecution

Post created on 4:02 pm

The firm developing the 21 storey building that collapsed on Gerrard Road, Ikoyi, Lagos state on November 1, 2021, will face criminal prosecution, as part of the White Paper on the incident in which about 50 people lost their lives alongside the promoter of the firm Mr. Femi Osibona.

The White Paper prepared by the Lagos State government on the report submitted to it by the panel that probed the building collapse recommended all government officials involved in approving the developer in 2019 should face administrative disciplinary panel.

While the remaining two structures being simultaneously constructed in the vicinity are to be demolished because they failed structural integrity tests.

Twenty-six out of the 28 recommendations contained in the Report were accepted by the government.

Submitting the report on January 5, 2022, the panel chairman Mr. Toyin Ayinde, a town planner, blamed the collapse on the erosion of professional ethics and disregard for due diligence.

The review panel rejected two recommendations for being nebulous and accepted the recommendation that Fourscore Heights Limited, owners of the collapsed building, be prosecuted given the loss of lives involved in the tragedy.

According to the White Paper, the state government has since directed the evacuation of all occupants within a 45m radius from the extreme boundaries of the blocks in the interest of public safety.

The white paper also frowned at Fourscore being the builder and architect all rolled into one.

The tribunal concluded that Fourscore Heights did not do the right thing and their negligence led to loss of lives.