Rescue operation on collapsed Ikoyi building enters Day 3, Sanwo-Olu encourages workers

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu visited the site of the building that collapsed in the Ikoyi area of Lagos State for the first time on Wednesday, November 3, 2021 to encourage rescue workers to save as many lives as possible.

The 21-storey building, one of three luxury high rise buildings under construction, collapsed on Monday, November 1, trapping dozens of people.

Nine people have been found alive under the rubble, but 14 people have been brought out dead, according to the government's last update on Tuesday, November 2.

Sanwo-Olu visited the site in the early hours of Wednesday, promising to provide rescue workers all the resources needed to retrieve everyone buried under the building.

"I can see that this is the dead of the night and all of you are still working believing that positive things will come out of it.

"We still have a long way to go. Let's continue to believe that if there are lives there, we'll do everything to bring them out," he said.

The governor on Tuesday suspended the General Manager of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), Gbolahan Oki, for an indefinite period.

The government also announced on Tuesday it will set up an independent panel to probe the circumstances of the collapse.

Numerous reports have emerged since the incident on Monday to suggest that the collapse of the building was a disaster waiting to happen.

A structural consultant for the building withdrew from the project last year, expressing concerns about construction errors.

In a leaked letter shared widely online, the firm, Prowess Engineering Limited, said it could only fully guarantee the integrity of the two adjoining buildings.

A news story last year that quoted a source also reported that the project was halted by the government over suspected building code violations.

When he visited the site of the collapse on Tuesday, the deputy governor, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, confirmed that the project was sealed for a few months last year.

Officials have vowed to ensure everyone responsible for the collapse is punished, but not much has been said about Femi Osibona, the owner of Fourscore Homes in charge of the project.

Some eyewitnesses have reported that he was at the site when the incident happened, and is possibly buried under the rubble himself.