DOSUNMI MARKET FIRE: Lagos govt threatens to demolish more buildings

The Lagos State Government has threatened to embark on the demolition of buildings that fail its integrity test in the aftermath of a fire that gutted the popular Dosunmu Market on Lagos Island where two buildings were razed, and 14 others affected.

While reacting to the fire outbreak, the Lagos State government had immediately directed that commercial activities in Dosunmu Street and its immediate environs be suspended till further notice.

As a further measure to stem the tide of such incidents, the government, in a statement on Thursday, reiterated its resolve to demolish buildings that do not meet up with the required standards.

The statement issued by Gov. Babajide Babajide Sanwo-Olu, stated that the government was taking steps to bring down buildings that are in close proximity to those that went up in flames at the Dosunmu Market.

“A lot of residential apartments have been turned into warehouses. I am saying without any iota of doubt that more buildings will go down,” the governor said.

“I just finished the assessment of a very unfortunate, but preventable disaster. Access was denied to the first responder to the fire for a couple of hours. This fire started more than 48 hours ago and is still alive.

“At the last count, we have about 14 houses that have been affected and more may go down after the extensive test.

“What I have seen here is what could have been prevented; we do not have a full report yet, so I do not want to speculate. From the initial report, it was gross carelessness.

“We will bring down any property that does not conform to our rules and regulations of construction.
> We cannot allow anyone to put the lives and property of others and the environment at risk,” he said when he the site of the fire.

Sanwo-Olu who insisted that the market would be closed indefinitely, however, assured that his government would assist those to be affected by the demolition.

“We will support those affected by the fire so they can get back on their feet, however. There are more progressive things we ought to be doing than to be spending scarce resources on avoidable accidents.”

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