In this report, Victor Ayeni, writes on how weak laws, unenforced regulations and corruptions enable developers and engineers escape punishment as many continue to die in collapse buildings in the country…
The morning of Thursday, February 2, started out as a normal day for most people. But residents of the Gwarinpa area in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, were not prepared for the coming disaster.
Around 11am, a two-storey building that had been under construction along 7th Avenue suddenly came crashing down with dozens of labourers trapped beneath the piles.
After some hours of rescue efforts by residents, emergency aid workers, and security agents, 21 people were rescued but two persons – a gateman, identified only as Mr Abdullahi, and his visitor, Mr Bolaji – lost their lives.
Barely two days after the incident, another building collapsed about 300 kilometres away in Aluu community, in the Ikwere Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The building, which was also under construction, killed three workers who were crushed under the rubble.
Earlier in January, a storey building on Aromire Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos, also fell, killing an adult male, who was said to be a welder.
Following that incident, the building was cordoned off by officials of the Lagos State Building Control Agency and the police.
While the Abuja tragedy was blamed on an unapproved additional floor being mounted on the structure, preliminary investigation indicated that the building in Rivers crumbled due to substandard materials.
531 dead in 10 years
A report by the Building Collapse Prevention Guild indicated that no fewer than 61 buildings collapsed in various states across the country in 2022.
Lagos recorded 20 incidents, which represented 48.7 per cent of all the cases in the year.
Highlighting the recurring decimal of structural failures across the country, the report also noted that at least 271 collapse incidents were recorded and more than 531 persons died in last 10 years.
In a 2020 report, the Building Collapse Prevention Guild revealed that over 43 structures collapsed in the country in 2019.
In what could now be termed as a foreboding of tragedy, the report added that 36,000 buildings in Lagos State were on the verge of collapsing.
The figures indicated that Anambra State recorded six incidents, while Plateau and Delta states had three each.
Lagos weak attempt
In a bid to prevent the increasing death rates from collapse buildings, the Lagos State Government promulgated the Urban and Regional Planning Development Law 2010 which mandated a property owner to obtain a building permit approval before starting construction.
In January 2022, the state government announced that it had sealed over 60 buildings in the state for violating physical and building control laws.
The sealed structures, according to a statement by the Head of the Public Affairs Unit of LASBCA, Mrs Adetayo Akitoye-Asagba, were located in Ikoyi, Amuwo Odofin, Iba, Eti-Osa, Ogudu, and Maryland.
“These buildings were sealed for different contraventions, including failure to respond to statutory notices served, non-conformity with approved drawings and absence of certified professionals on-site, among others.
“Non-response to notices served by LASBCA and the continued unlawful construction of their property in violation of the physical planning and building control laws of the state led to the enforcement exercise,” she said.
Unfortunately, the efforts have not effectively addressed the legal and ethical fallouts in the built sector, which have continued to give rise to incidents of building collapse.
Over the years, several factors have been highlighted for increasing cases of building collapse – faulty construction, extraordinary loads on structures, bad designs, use of substandard building materials, and greed on the part of developers. However, the paucity of relevant laws and poor implementation of existing regulations have been an intractable root cause.
Ineffective building laws
During a recent induction for newly registered professional builders in Abuja, the Chairman of the Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria, Dr Samson Opaluwa, described the incessant collapse of structures in various states as alarming.
He stated, “Building collapse used to be in few locations, but in the past year, we discovered, building collapses were taking place all over the country and that meant that an emergency situation has arisen and we needed to take drastic steps to curb it.”
One of the resolutions, he noted, was to hold building developers up to quality specifications and relevant laws that undergird the construction sector.
“This unit will ensure all buildings across the country meet quality specifications. They are also to monitor the practices on-site to conform to the National Building Code, and relevant laws setting up the arms of various professionals in the construction sector,” he added.
The National Building Code 2006, which was initiated by the National Council on Housing and Urban Development, laid down the minimum provisions buildings need to ensure public safety with regards to structural efficiency and fire hazard.
Although the building code contained development control rules and general building requirements that private and public bodies in the built sector were expected to adopt, it has been argued to have a rather limited application.
Interestingly, even with extant laws, including the Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria Law, many quacks and fraudulent builders still freely operate the building sector, which has contributed to rising cases of building collapse.
A legal practitioner, Chukwuma Aguwa, said the culture of impunity which absolved citizens of the consequences of their actions, weakened building laws.
He said, “In any society, for the law to be effective, citizens must be made to understand the importance of its consequences. Where there is no speedy justice or a culture of impunity is entrenched whereby people break the law and escape the cause of justice due to their political connections or affluence in society, it will enable culprits to continue in their criminal offences.
“Once any individual breaks the law, no matter how highly placed that person is, they must face the consequences. But when the law makes a scapegoat of a culprit, it will deter others from toeing the same path. It will make every stakeholder in the building project become cautious.
“So, there needs to be regulations that will assess architectural and structural plans. Then, there is a need for building control officers to ensure that a trained or licensed builder is present at construction sites to manage the building production and ascertain if the structure conforms to the approved building plan.”
Aguwa added that structural collapses which result from deviations from building plans could be prevented with proper monitoring, which would also ensure accountability.
Many incidents, few convictions
Despite the strings of building collapse in different parts of the country in the last few years, not many of the culprits — developers, builders, engineers or property owners — have been prosecuted and duly convicted.
On December 10, 2016, at least 27 people were killed and over 37 injured when the Reigners Bible Church in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, which was under construction, collapsed during a service to consecrate the pastor of the church, Akan Weeks.
The state Governor, Emmanuel Udom, in a terse statement, promised to prosecute all persons found culpable in the incident.
However, the governor rejected the White Paper released by a commission of inquiry, which indicted Weeks.
No prosecution or convictions of those found culpable in the incident till date as the case appears to have withered like raisins in the sun.
In Lagos State, findings by Sunday PUNCH show that no fewer than 217 persons have lost their lives in 10 major building collapse incidents in the state in the last nine years.
While the state government had taken possession of the building sites and threatened sanctions, only a few convictions have been recorded.
In a bid to instill sanity in the industry, a former governor of the state, Babatunde Fashola, set up a tribunal to look into the matter in 2013.
The tribunal, headed by Abimbola Ajayi, an architect, blamed weak enforcement of laws, especially the 2010 Planning Regulations and Building Control Law, “crass indiscipline and gross corruption by all and sundry” for the recurring problem.
The tribunal also noted that 135 cases of building collapse were recorded in Lagos between 2007 and 2013.
Notable among these was that of the guesthouse of the Synagogue Church of All Nations, which collapsed in 2014 and claimed 115 lives.
The Lagos State Coroner, Oyetade Komolafe, ruled that the church should be prosecuted, but no charges were preferred against its owner, Prophet Temitope Joshua, until his death in 2021.
Similarly, on March 8, 2016, a five-storey building owned by Lekki Gardens crumbled, killing 34 persons.
The Managing Director of Lekki Gardens Estate, Richard Nyong, and seven others were arraigned for criminal negligence.
But in 2020, Babajide Taiwo, the prosecution counsel, told the court that all the parties involved came to an agreement and resolved to settle out of court.
The terms of the settlement included the payment of a N100m fine by Lekki Gardens Estate to the state government and N50m as compensation to the families of each of the victims.
However, only five of the victims’ families were said to have been identified and paid.
Also, on March 30, 2018, a one-storey building collapsed at No. 9 Abeje Street, Agege, killing two persons, while scores were left injured.
On July 11, 2020, three persons died, while nine were injured when a three-storey building collapsed on Freeman Street, Lagos Island.
On July 8, 2021, a five-year-old child died when a building came down at No. 19 Church Street, off Adeniji Adele Street, on Lagos Island.
The collapse of a 21-storey building on Gerrard Road, Ikoyi, on November 1, 2021, claimed no fewer than 45 persons, including the building developer.
The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency disclosed that there were 31 incidents of building collapse in the first half of 2022 (between January to July), and no fewer than 213 persons lost their lives in seven such incidents between 2014 and 2020.
On May 1, 2022, a house on Ibadan Street, Ebute-Meta, collapsed, leading to several deaths and many others maimed.
Shortly afterward, a three-storey building under construction on Akanbi Crescent, Yaba, also collapsed in February, killing no fewer than five people.
The Lagos State Government later disclosed that an order had been given for the developer of the building to be arrested and prosecuted.
A spokesman of the Lagos State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mukaila Sanusi, said LASBCA had been mandated to liaise with the police to proceed to court and press charges against the developer.
“It is hoped that his prosecution would send a strong warning to all recalcitrant developers that it is mandatory to build right and engage professionals in constructing buildings in Lagos State as we will not hesitate to bring to book whoever errs against the law,” he said.
Preliminary findings by the state government revealed that the building site in Yaba had been sealed off twice by LASBCA in the previous year for non-compliance with building regulations, after which the site was abandoned.
However, the developer broke the government seal, sneaked into the site, and recommenced construction without an official authorisation.
At the same period, the Lagos State Special Offences Court, Oshodi, convicted 53 persons who contravened the building regulations in the state.
They were convicted after LASBCA prosecuted them for contravening the provisions of the Lagos State Urban and Regional Planning and Development Law 2010.
Proper regulations
In developed countries, buildings being insured must comply with construction standards, thereby minimising the risk of building collapse.
On June 24, 2021, a 12-storey beachfront condominium in the Miami suburb of Surfside, Florida, United States, partially collapsed causing the death of 98 people.
In the weeks following the tragedy, the Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, reviewed condo association regulations and proceeded to sign into law a piece of legislation to require stricter inspections for condominiums.
Families of the condominium complex also filed a class action lawsuit against various entities responsible for the development and maintenance of the property and neighbouring developments.
The 40 defendants in the case chose to settle quickly to avoid long delays from litigation.
However, in Nigeria, particularly Lagos State, with the highest number of building collapse, despite efforts to prevent the accidents, there are setbacks in enforcement of appropriate laws/regulations.
An architect and Principal Partner at OddSpace Consult, Mr Ayomide George, decried the way regulatory bodies bypass due processes on the basis of ‘man-know-man.’
He said, “I work in a real estate company as an architect, so I have seen a lot of things. In Lagos State, we have LASBCA and we have the Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority and they are supposed to ensure that every standard and material being used for construction of any type, at any given time, is up to at least a minimum standard.
“The laws which regulate construction are implemented to an extent, but our systems are personality-driven. If someone like Aliko Dangote rises up and says he wants to build a house, he may not follow all the regulations in place.
“The fault is not particularly the developers because people will always find their ways to abjure regulations and the bodies set up to enforce standards cannot do so because somebody has put some money in their pockets, so they overlook the process and this perpetuates the problem.”
George called on the government and relevant bodies to ensure adequate control on builders’ qualifications and adherence to physical planning laws.
“There should be some regulations on who is allowed to build; there should be some measures of control. Yesterday, we went for an inspection, and in Ajah alone, we counted about 20 big estates owned by different real estate companies.
“Nobody is checking whether these builders have the right qualifications or whether material testing has been conducted. People bypass the process because someone they know is there and money exchanges hands and they obtain approvals. These people know they can get away with their inactions, so we are lacking in the implementation of laws.
“This is a reflection of how things work in Nigeria. In a place like the US, most of their building collapses are caused by natural disasters because there is quality control there. You will need proper qualifications to own real estate and their regulatory bodies carry out checks, ensure that due processes are followed and if you mess up, you go to jail,” he added.
Gaming the system
On his part, an urban architect, Mr Ezekiel Bassey, in a phone interview with our correspondent, decried the level of greed and lack of technical know-how that he said was rife in the sector.
He pointed out that the country did not need more laws to curb incidents of building collapse, but more sensitisation which would enable effective implementation of extant laws.
He said, “We need better systems — systems incentivised enough to not be complacent or compromised in carrying out their processes. Approval agencies are compromised. I don’t think this is news at this point that some officers in the agency give approval to buildings with illegal density, parking, and structural design. This is one side.
“On another side, some builders and architects have learned to ‘game’ the system. That is, they submit a building design that adheres to all of the planning laws while going ahead to build something a lot denser with little or no compensation to the structural design and implementation – thus increasing the likelihood of collapse. That is a display of ignorance with a large dose of greed.
“I am convinced that anyone who is building rubbish is doing so because he/she barely knows better. I say this because no matter how greedy you are, if you really know your turf, the worst you would do is compromise on the finishes of the building but never the structural integrity. Therefore, whoever builds rubbish is not only greedy but stupid.
“Based on this, I don’t think we need more laws, instead there should be more sensitisation of the existing laws as well as developing a sustainable system for implementation.”
Bassey also faulted the current model of enforcing building laws which he said needed to be decentralised to the local government level.
“For instance, does a relatively advanced state like Lagos State know the total number of building constructions going on per time? I don’t think so. And this is where everything starts to fall apart.
“In credit to LABSCA, I know they move around and paint on buildings that are not being built to standards but it barely does enough to enforce compliance as construction usually commences a few weeks later and usually with no improvement in quality assurance and control.
“To curb building collapse requires a decentralised approach and should be done at the local government level. All buildings should be properly documented and categorised into completed, practical completion, and defect liability under construction and approval stage,” he added
He also noted that inspection should be carried out “at each critical stage by building control agency officials at the local government level to ensure a wider net.”
He stated “If an inspection stage is successful, the builder is given a certificate to proceed. Whistle-blowing with rewards should be encouraged so citizens with building experience can report construction activities that are not being properly done.”
Lagos vows sanctions
When our correspondent reached out to CORBON, South-West Zone, an official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, said, “There are measures in place to halt incidents of building collapse. In fact, the council is setting up a tribunal to punish erring building engineers and registered builders. There is going to be a tribunal that will be put in place very soon.”
The Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mr Omotayo Bamgbose-Martins, said the state had decided to recognise only builders associated with known professional bodies to ensure accountability.
“After investigation and any of them is found guilty and culpable, two things will happen. One, we will report them to their professional bodies. If he’s an engineer, it means his certification and registration are at stake. And if he’s a developer, his association is at stake. They may even have a form of licensing among themselves, that will be at stake.
“Whether life is lost or not, any building collapse is disastrous, so if he is culpable, we will hand over the matter to the Ministry of Justice for the necessary legal process. The justice ministry will then determine whether he should be prosecuted and the extent of it,” he added.
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, did not take several calls made to his phone and did not reply to a text message sent to his phone as of the time of filing this report.
