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Ikoyi Building Collapse: Provisional Approval Not Given Before Construction Started – LASBCA

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The Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) told a Coroners Inquest investigating the November 1 collapse of a 21-story building on Gerrard Road in Ikoyi, Lagos, that the three high-rise blocks were built months before the provisional license was granted.

Mr. A.S Odugbemi, counsel for the LASBCA, made the claim while questioning Mr Muritala Olawale, Managing Director of Prowess Engineering Nigeria Ltd. Olawale had previously worked on the project as a consulting structural engineer.

He resigned his position in a letter dated February 20, 2020, citing disagreements about the project’s structural execution.

At the coroner’s proceedings, Odugbemi disputed the contents of paragraph 17 of Olawale’s statement on oath to the inquest, stating that late Femi Osibona, the Managing Director of Fourscore Heights Limited, had informed his team that he had received provisional approval for the project’s construction.

According to Olawale’s statement on oath, Osibona showed his team a copy of the provisional approval from the Lagos State government and ordered them to commence construction on the site.

Disputing Olawale’s claims, Odugbemi said that LASBCA never granted Osibona a provisional planning permit when the team moved to the site to commence construction in January 2019, adding that LASBCA granted provisional approval in April 2019.

“Will you be surprised if the evidence is provided to you right now that work had started before the provisional planning approval was granted in April 2019?” Odugbemi asked.

Responding, Olawale said “I will be surprised. All the approval processes were being handled by the client (Osibona).”

Olawale did not give a specific answer to Odugbemi’s query on whether the three high-rise blocks were covered by a general insurance policy as required by law.

He, however, informed the panel that prior to construction, a soil test was conducted at the site by another company contracted to do the job, disclosing that “we have submitted the result of the soil test of the site to other panels investigating the collapse.”

Of the three high-rise buildings (Blocks A, B, and C) which were situated on Gerrard Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, Block B (21-storeys) collapsed on November 1, 2021, killing 46 persons while 15 persons were rescued alive.

BIG STORY

BREAKING: Court Finds Natasha Guilty Of Contempt, Fines Her N5 million

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The Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday convicted the senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, for contempt over a satirical apology she posted on her Facebook page on April 27.

Justice Binta Nyako, delivering judgment in the suit filed by Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan challenging her suspension, began with the contempt application submitted by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.

Akpabio, in his application, argued that the senator’s social media post breached an earlier court order that restrained all parties from speaking to the press or posting on social media about the matter.

Akpoti-Uduaghan’s counsel contended that the post was unrelated to the court’s order on her suspension but was about a separate matter involving sexual harassment claims against the third respondent (Akpabio).

However, Justice Nyako ruled that after reviewing the post and the application before her filed by the third respondent, she was convinced it was connected to the suspension case before the court and therefore declared the plaintiff guilty of contempt.

The judge directed Akpoti-Uduaghan to publish an apology in two national newspapers and on her Facebook page within seven days. She also imposed a fine of N5 million.

 

More to come…

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BIG STORY

BREAKING: Court Orders Senate To Recall Suspended Natasha Akpoti

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A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Friday ruled that the Nigerian Senate exceeded its powers by suspending Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan for six months, ordering her to be immediately recalled to the Red Chamber.

Justice Binta Nyako, delivering the judgment, described the suspension period as “excessive” and lacking a solid legal basis.

The court stated that both Chapter 8 of the Senate Standing Orders and Section 14 of the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act, which the Senate relied on, do not specify a maximum suspension length. Therefore, their application in this situation was considered overreaching.

The judge noted that since the National Assembly is only mandated to sit for 181 days in a legislative year, suspending a lawmaker for about the same length of time effectively silences an entire constituency, calling it unconstitutional.

“While the Senate has the authority to discipline its members, such sanctions must not go so far as to deny constituents their right to representation,” Nyako ruled.

However, the court agreed with Senate President Godswill Akpabio on a different issue, ruling that his decision to prevent Akpoti-Uduaghan from speaking during a plenary—because she was not in her designated seat—did not violate her rights.

Nyako also dismissed Akpabio’s argument that the judiciary should not interfere in what he described as an “internal affair” of the legislature, saying fundamental rights and representation fall squarely within the court’s jurisdiction.

In a separate twist, the court imposed a monetary penalty on Akpoti-Uduaghan for violating an earlier court directive that barred both parties from making public comments about the ongoing legal proceedings.

The fine amounts to millions of naira.

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BIG STORY

COALITION: We’ll Register New Party As Backup To ADC — El-Rufai

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A leader of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, and an important figure in the opposition coalition, Nasir El-Rufai, stated that a new political party would be registered as a backup for the African Democratic Congress, ADC.

El-Rufai explained that the new party would serve as an alternative option to guard against potential infiltration by the All Progressives Congress, APC, into the ADC.

The opposition coalition had chosen the ADC as its platform on Wednesday.

However, El-Rufai noted that there is a possibility the APC could spark a crisis within the ADC by turning old members against the new leadership.

He revealed this during an interview with Radio France International (RFI) Hausa Service on Wednesday night.

“Those who refuse to join the APC face threats of investigations by agencies like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC), or Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB).

“The opposition parties’ alliance in the ADC is temporary, and we may register a new party as a second option, which we will move to should the ADC be instigated into crisis by the government,” the former Kaduna governor stated.

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