Group wants Sanwo-Olu to probe alleged return of LASBCA staff sacked over building collapse

A group, the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA), has called on Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to set up a panel to probe the alleged reinstatement of staff who were dismissed from the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) following the collapse of a six-storey building within the Lekki Gardens Estate at Ikate Elegushi, Lekki, in March 2016.

The organisation, in a letter addressed to the governor on Sunday, expressed concerns over the reinstatement of the sacked staff which it described as unjustified, and urged him to promptly investigate the allegations for necessary action.

In the letter signed by its Chairman, Olanrewaju Suraju, titled “Unjustified Reinstatement of Dismissed LASBCA Staff Over Building Collapse: Urgent Need to Revisit the Case,” the human rights group said it was “shocked and astonished” at the dismissed LASBCA officials’ reabsorption into the civil service through a judicial process that remains inconclusive.

The group emphasized that justice should not be compromised, while the “continuity of sound government policies must be maintained, as government is a continuum.”

The group recalled the “tragic incident of a collapsed six-storey building within Lekki Gardens Estate at Ikate Elegushi, Lekki, on March 8, 2016, resulting in the loss of 35 lives and injuries to 16 individuals,” and highlighted the decisive action taken by the then Governor Akinwunmi Ambode which promptly directed the dismissal of the staff who were found to be culpable.

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Those affected by the sack included the then General Manager of LASBCA, Engr. Adeigbe Olushola, Head of Inspection and Quality Control in the Agency, Bldr. Adeoye Thomas Adeyemi, the Zonal District Officer in the Agency, Bldr. Dosunmu Gbadebo, and mandatorily retired the Zonal Head of Eti-Osa West of the Agency, Tpl. Mrs. Akinde Adenike Sherifat, following their indictment of negligence, classified as misconduct under the Public Service Rule 040401.

HEDA however, expressed “shock and dismay that these dismissed LASBCA officials have been reinstated into the service and returned to their offices in the face of this indictment, even though the judicial process remains unresolved,” the letter said.

The letter noted that while the organization acknowledged the judiciary as a distinct arm of the government with decisions that cannot be overturned by the executive, it insisted that the government must ensure public confidence is maintained by ensuring those indicted are made to pay for their offences and not allowed to sustain their negligence and compromise against public interest.

Citing an alarming record of over 111 building collapses in Lagos State since the Lekki Gardens incident resulting in 193 fatalities and 250 injuries, including children, HEDA emphasized the gravity of the issue and further urged the state government to act without sentiments to preserve the rule of law while cleansing the system.

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