The Lagos State Police Command confirmed today that they had arrested Richard Nyong, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Lekki Gardens, a construction company handling the construction of a five-story building that collapsed last Tuesday in Lekki, Lagos State. The death toll from the collapsed building, located on Kushenla Road, Ikate Elegushi in Lekki on Tuesday, has reached 31, according to one state official.
A police spokesperson, Dolapo Badmos, disclosed that Mr. Nyong has been detained at Panti Police Station. Ms. Badmos added that the construction firm’s MD would be charged to court as early as tomorrow as investigations are almost completed.
On Wednesday, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State had ordered all directors of Lekki Worldwide Estate Limited to submit themselves to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni, within twenty-four hours or face arrest.
In compliance with the governor’s directive, Mr. Nyong reported himself to the office of the Commissioner of Police in the company of his lawyer, Mr. Wole Olanipekun. The police then detained him after an initial interrogation.
Following the collapse of the building, the Lagos State Government revealed that preliminary investigations indicated that state officials had issued a violation notice on the building for exceeding the number of approved floors. The state added that the building was thereafter sealed by the Lagos State Building Control Agency.
The government stated that, in a brazen act of defiance and impunity, the owners of the building, Messrs Lekki Worldwide Estate Limited, the promoters of Lekki Gardens, criminally unsealed the property and continued building beyond the approved floors until the tragic collapse that has claimed the lives of more than 30 people.
A state official told SaharaReporters that Governor Ambode was furious at the number of collapsed buildings in the state, adding that the governor was determined “to wield the big stick so as to put a stop to the disturbing trend.”
