Lagos vows buildings without permits will be demolished

Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), has disclosed that it would demolish all buildings and structures that do not have the necessary building permits.

Speaking during a media briefing on Friday, the General Manager of LASBCA, Gbolahan Oki, said: ‘’My duty is for any property without a building plan approval, of which I would have to serve all the necessary notices, and once these notices are served without anyone providing a document to that effect, it means that property is an illegal structure.

“This issue has been going on around Ogombo, Eti-Osa area of the state in the last 5 years, and I have been on it for one and a half year. Hence, we are doing the needful by removing the illegal structures because the government must perform their duty.”

Oki explained that most of the buildings recently demolished in the Ogombo area of Ibeju-Lekki were illegal structures and shanties.

He said: “80-90 per cent are shanties and between 5 – 10 structures at Ogombo are without building plan approval.’’

He decried the encroachment on government-owned landed property by land grabbers who also disturb government officials on official duties.

He said: “We have been in Ogombo, Eti-Osa area of the state for over 5 – 10 years. It is land owned by the state government and meant for housing.

“The land grabbers keep going there to disturb the government officials, sell the lands, and continue to build on those lands meant for the state government, some even come with a fake Certificate of Occupancy.

“We have to stop this act and note that land grabbers are not bigger than the government or the people and we really need to curb them.”

Oki added that people should follow the due diligence process before buying a property.

“When due diligence is conducted, the legal practitioner involved in documenting the agreement would be able to decipher the status of the property,’’ he said.