Three trafficked children serving as workers in a Lagos construction site rescued

Officials of the Lagos State Materials Testing Laboratory (LSMTL) on Thursday rescued three trafficked children serving as workers in a construction site in the Lekki area of the state.

The agency also sealed 22 high-rise buildings and four estates for non-compliance with quality assurance in the area.

The General Manager of LSMTL, Dr. Afolabi Abiodun, who disclosed this to journalists during the enforcement exercise, warned developers against child labour, saying defaulters would be prosecuted by the state government.

The children, who were from the Benin Republic, were rescued during enforcement visit to the construction sites by LSMTL.

Abiodun also stressed the need for safe water during construction.

READ ALSO: Police rescue nine children from suspected traffickers in Enugu

On the rescued children, he said: “It is child abuse. Developers should not use children for construction.

“Look at the children, if we estimate their age, they are less than 10 years old. What is a 10-year- old child doing on a construction site?”

The LSMTL chief said the enforcement was necessary to assess the structural integrity of buildings and to stem the tide of building collapses in line with Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s zero tolerance for the collapse of buildings in the state.

He urged owners of completed high-rise buildings to carry out non- destructive tests every five years, to ensure the structural stability of their buildings.

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