BREAKING: Sanwo-Olu Talks Tough After Visiting Ikoyi Building Collapse Site, To Sign Executive Order

The Lagos Sate Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has said that any person or institution found guilty at the end of the investigation into the cause of the collapse of the 21 storey building in the Ikoyi axis of Lagos will face the wrath of the law.

Sanwo-Olu made the announcement on Wednesday during a visit to the site of the building collapse.

According to reports, 22 people have died as a result of the building collapse, while nine have so far being rescued.

Six of the victims are believed to be in critical conditions while three had been discharged.

The governor said an independent panel of inquiry has been set up to investigate the cause of the collapse.

According to him, the panel will also study the compliance level to building laws in the state.

He said, “If there are other people found culpable in the course of the investigation, everybody will also face the full wrath of the law. So, for us to get to the real issue of what has happened, I have formed a high powered commission of enquiry. It is a strong professional investigative panel that will consist everybody outside of the government and I will roll out the names of the members. It is a five member panel withone secretary and and they have been given a clear term of reference.

“I will be meeting with some of them and we are going to give them a 30-day assignment for them to wrap up and tell us indeed, professionally what has happened and what have gone wrong there and who are the culprits and what we need to do.”

Sanwo-Olu named the members as Tayo Ayinde, the current president of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners Association of Nigeria, as chairman of the panel.

Members are: Idris Adeleke, a structural engineer; Yinka Ogudairo; Godfrey O Godfrey (builder) and Mrs Bunmi Ibrahim (lawyer).

He added that the secretary of the panel will be Mr Ekudayo Onajobi, who is also a lawyer.

“I will be signing an executive order in the next one hour giving legal backing to their composition so that they can start work immediately and turn up the report not later than 30 days,” the governor added

The governor explained that it is assumed that the contractor and the building developer were trapped in the building as non of them have showed up.

He added that he understands that the “developer is the contractor and the builder.”