Boss Picks
NDLEA Arrests 48 Suspects at Fola Aiyesimoju’s UPDC Resident Apartments in Amuwo Odofin
By Eric Elezuo
The 28th of November, 2020 brought a near positive climax to the activities of criminal elements living and operating within the UACN Property Development Company Plc (UPDC) residences, which shares a common compound with the high profile Festival Hotel (formerly Golden Tulip Hotel) and Festival Mall, which houses Shoprite.
Relishing in the euphoria of the successful raid conducted by officers and men of the Nigeria Drug law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in the early hours of November 28, 2020, the executive committee of the Golden Tulip Residents Association, an umbrella body, which also accommodates the UPDC Residences and residents led by Mr. Moses Olanrejwu, in a press statement signed by the Public Relations Officer of the association, Mr Oke Odhomor, the executive expressed profound appreciation to the agency for their intervention, stating that “For almost a year, the EXCO has complained to the UPDC management about the short let operations within the building which has attracted unsavoury characters that use the temporary accommodation for illicit activities including drug use, internet fraud and many illegal activities.”
Building regulations agency officials inspecting a collapse section of the building
The PRO remarked that the raid was just what the residents needed to stem the tide of untold criminal activities that have gone on for long, and had got so bad that residents and their families live in fear of the unknown while most of them have found alternative accommodations. It will be recalled that it was from this estate that someone or a group of persons were seen throwing money in large quantity from the window of the second floor, causing a stampede below.
The PRO wondered who in his right senses does that, or who will ever do that if he makes his money legitimately.
“It has gotten so bad that residents and their families are not comfortable within the environment while some have been moving out,” he said.
He blamed the facilities managers for the high crime rate in the estate, stressing that the company failed to live up to expectation in the discharge of their duties, especially their involvement in the unlawful act of allowing people to sublet apartments to unknown characters, who in turn become uncontrollable nuisances.
He noted that all the efforts the residents have made to stem the tide of crime in the estate were rebuffed by the facilities manager Mrs. Alaba Fagun of UPDC, whose security personnel were indicted as being in cohort with the criminal elements.
The chairman of the Resident Association Mr. Olanrejwu Moses in one of his letters to UPDC management read in part:
“The EXCO has made several entreaties to UPDC verbally and officially (we have the letters as evidence) requesting that they terminate the running of the short let operations because it is the source of the illegal activities.
A snake killed within the building
“The very act of the commercial operation is an illegality as one of the clauses in the UPDC rules and regulations is that the apartments are not to be used for commercial and illegal activities.
“However, UPDC Plc has flouted this regulation and has encouraged the use of the apartments for short-let accommodation which has attracted a number of criminally minded youths who use the place for internet fraud activities, smoking of illegal substances, rowdy parties that break all the COVID-19 safety protocols which has exposed residents to physical and health dangers.
“The operations are done with the full approval of the security personnel and UPDC on site facility managers Mr. Tomiwa Fasida.
“It has gotten to a point whereby the influx of these temporary occupants have made legitimate owners uncomfortable in their homes.
“Throughout the year, there have been security incidents caused by these short-let occupants which has disrupted the peace and quiet of the environment.”
Wrong and faulty air-conditioning unit installation
In their reaction however, the UPDC management communicated to the residents through individual email after the raid, saying that all was well, and they were on top of security matters.
The UPDC residences, which comprises 198 apartments of one and two bedrooms, and also houses offices and staff rooms, have been in the news for a while for the wrong reasons as residents consistently complained of siege and barefaced insecurity owing to activities of criminal elements, who found their ways to the estate through shortlet accommodations initiated and perpetrated by the facilities managers, UPDC.
In their desperation to make the estate habitable for the occupier/owners and their families, residents engaged UPDC to live up to their professional billing, including inviting the officers and men of the FESTAC Divisional Police station, who intervened and made some arrests, but that did not deter the facilities management.
More so, some whistle blower letters, especially the one dated July 23, 2020, which was sited by The Boss were also sent to the Chief Executive Officer, UPDC, Mr. Fola Aiyesimoju, to get him to react positively, but he never did.
LASEMA officials inspecting damaged areas
The residents claim that over 27 petitions have been sent to Mr. Aiyesimoju on such matters.
RESIDENTS LOSE CONFIDENCE IN UPDC
On November, 24, 2020, another letter, addressed to the CEO Mr. Fola Aiyesimoju was sent by the Golden Tulip Residents Association, who at this time has lost faith in the administration of the facilities managers as a result of the dilapidated state of the estate, inability to repair or replace damaged installations despite huge service charge paid by residents which amounted to N1,045,000 per apartment of 1 and 2 bedrooms. This is one increment, according to the PRO, the Resident Association considered illegal because the procedure for such in the UPDC rule books which provides that before any increment is made, the residents must approve of it and shall jointly manage the facility with the management company but that was not followed coupled with the state of insecurity that has turned residents into vegetables in their own apartments.
The Executive Committee, by the letter had demanded within 24 hours a detailed account of income and expenditure of the estate so as to know why there is paucity of funds to attend to estate development affairs.
The following were areas the EXCO find the facility managers wanting, and demanded explanations according to the letter:
BUILDING INTEGRITY
“We are also bringing to your notice the on-going works at the section of the collapsed ceiling on the 4th floor. Please see attached pictures showing that the contractor is using planks as props and not timber as was stated in the letter sent to the EXCO by UPDC. The industry practice is that steel props are used in cases like this.
“The EXCO has previously requested that UPDC assesses the qualification and experience of the contractor that it is engaging to carry out this work as UPDC will be held responsible for any injury or loss incurred by residents during the repairs of this building.
Dilapidated state of the facility
INSURANCE
“The EXCO is aware that residents have been paying the insurance premium for the building.
“We would like to know the insurance company that is providing cover for the building and evidence of premium payment.
SHORTLET OPERATIONS
“Despite the notice sent on the termination of short let operations, this activity is still going on.
“The temporary occupants are still causing a nuisance within the building including the smoking of weed in the common areas and lift.
“We would like to know what measure UPDC is taking to implement the termination order?
“Can you give a timeline as to when this activity will stop?
SECURITY
“The EXCO is still awaiting the security report on the October 2020 break in of the 4 hoodlums into the complex and also when the physical security audit will be carried out.
“There are still gaps in the security architecture of this complex and the mobile policemen are not staying at their beats.
Fola Aiyesimoju, CEO, UPDC
“We do not know when there will be another security incident within the vicinity of the complex and the complex should not be left exposed to attacks.
GAS PIPELINE/GAS CYLINDERS
“The EXCO would also like to remind you about the potential danger of not securing the area around the gas pipeline.
“This gas pipeline was channelled by UPDC to the complex to feed the IPP so UPDC has a responsibility to ensure that the area is well protected.
“There is an abandoned container and other illegal commercial activities taking place on the gas pipeline route which should be a cause for alarm to UPDC.
“The cooling system for the gas cylinders behind the shopping mall has still not been fixed. This is extremely dangerous given that an explosion will probably cause fatalities and multiple damages to buildings and properties in the vicinity. We are approaching the festive season and it is expected that the complex will be well populated by families and young people who will come to enjoy the facilities that the complex offers. UPDC needs to urgently get experts to fix the faults in the cooling system.
“We will continually remind you about all outstanding issues and we pray that you take on board our concerns and the UPDC does the needful in resolving all our concerns,” the letter noted.
DIARY OF SECURITY BREACHES UNDER UPDC-LED MANAGEMENT
The residents, many of whom told The Boss that their lives are insecure in the environment, lamented security breaches. In their separate responses, they narrated as follows:
In February 2020, some members of the resident association security committee had to call the UPDC Plc former Chief Security Officer, Mr Jude, to control the activities of drug smokers in the car park.
In March 2020 members of the Resident Security Committee apprehended a short-let occupant smoking cannabis in the car park and handed the person to the UPDC former CSO, Mr. Jude but to our dismay the matter was not handed over to the police or NDLEA and It was not recorded in the security log book or included in the weekly activity report given to the EXCO of the resident association.
There was a rape incident by six boys that happened during the year that was not reported by ASCO Security, (the security company employed by UPDC Plc to guard the complex) despite the fact that the rapists were arrested but later released by the former CSO and the Mopol attached to the Festival Mall. In fact the CSO of ASCO security confessed to the DPO Festac Town on phone when he was interrogated on the rape case.
Again there was no follow up nor was it logged in their security log book.
On 28 August 2020, there was an incident that went viral on social media were some temporary occupants of the short-let apartments caused a disturbance and were seen throwing naira notes out of their windows to a crowd of people in the car park area facing the Festival Mall. There were three ASCO security personnel in the crowd captured on video.
It took the action and presence of the police to restore peace and order.
Alana Fagun, UPDC Facility Manager
A fight broke out between two temporary short let occupants over a deal that went bad and it took the intervention of a Colonel who was in the building to control the soldiers that one of the parties brought in.
In July, the car park was invaded by over 50 youths smoking illegal substances and loitering in the area constituting a nuisance. This was done in the full view of the ASCO security personnel who allowed them into the complex. It took the presence of a team from the Area E Commander who attempted to round up the youths, most of them escaped aided by the UPDC security who allowed them to exit through a black back gate.
These were also contained in a petition which the Exco said is ready to be sent to the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, through the Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba as obtained by The Boss
The residents believe that the incidents show the scale of the problems “we are facing within the complex all caused by our facility management company, UPDC Plc who have continued to allow the short let operations that is attracting unsavoury elements into the complex”.
They accused the shortlet operators of not even having a registered business with the CAC.
APPEAL TO SECURITY AGENCIES
The residents noted that they have appealed to the police and other security agencies including Barr Babatunde Irukere of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to come to their aid as the crisis supervised by UPDC is getting out of hand. They allege that criminal elements are getting comfortable in the environment as they have bought over the security personnel, expressing the fear that it won’t take time for them to take over the environment and upgrade their illegal activities thereby exposing genuine residents to attacks, robberies, kidnapping among others.
They are demanding investigation into the activities of the facility managers, suggesting that the CEO, Mr Fola Aiyesimoju and the on-site Managers, Mrs. Alaba Fagun and Mr Tomiwa Fasida as well as the owners of the shortlet apartments and their agents be interrogated to ascertain the extent of their involvement.
“Why will they continue to allow this illegal operation to run despite numerous complaints from the EXCO and knowing fully well of the criminality that it brings to the complex,” Mr Moses had inquired in his petitions.
Further in his contribution, the PRO, Mr. Oke Odhomor, maintained that the problem with the estate transcends beyond criminal elements, who had infiltrated the environment to total disregard of infrastructure maintenance as almost every corner of the former high profile quarters is a shadow of its self. This he blamed on the unprofessional conduct of the managers of the facility.
“The way it stands, it is like our facility managers are out to meet a certain target considering how they bill the residents, and do little or nothing with the money. Take for instance, the air-conditioner broke down at a time, and UPDC gave us a bill of one million, seven hundred and fifty naira (1,750,000). We decided to try someone else and behold, it cost just about N10,000 for a fuse and everything was back to normal. So you can imagine what we have been going through all along.
“The fourth floor of the building is totally dilapidated, and likely to collapse. The same with the gas area. There, even people from the Amuwo Odofin local government collect parking fees from people who park their cars and articulated vehicles on top of the gas pipeline taped from the Gaslink pipeline, and no one is saying anything. An explosion could happen at any time. NNPC has a caution sign at the place yet UPDC looked the other way. If that explodes one day, the casualty level will be greater that what happened in Abule Odo sometime ago.
“This UPDC people are totally lawless and cares nothing about the comfort of the residents they are managing. I understand that they were chased away from managing the 1004 Estates in Victoria Island as well as the Anchorage Estate among other places they have exhibited their incompetence.
“We have at various times invited the General Manager, Lagos State Building Control Agency, Engr. Abiola Kosegbe, and the General Manager, Lagos State Safety Commission, Mr. Lanre Mojola, to come and view first hand the state of rot at this estate. Mr Mojola at his last visit was quick to shut down the illegal event centre established by UPDC. However, no one can tell what happened afterwards, and the place was reopened, and has remained in operation till date.
“The teams acknowledged that there has been non-compliance by UPDC to Lagos State building regulations specifically there is no evidence of structural integrity test and comprehensive structural stability report and no evidence of certificate of completion and fitness for habitation before use of the structure,” Odhomor stated.
When The Boss sought the opinions of both officers, their phones were either unavailable or rang out without being picked.
RESPONSES FROM THE UPDC MANAGEMENT
The Boss investigation reveals that apart from Mr. Fola Aiyesimoju, who is the CEO of the company, the likes of Mrs Alaba Fagun, the New Head of Facilities Management, Nicol Omeruah, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Kunle Oshilaja, who is a Non Executive Director, are some of the members of administration of the company.
In a telephone chat with Mrs Fagun, The Boss was made to understand that she was not in a position to speak on the matter. Mrs Fagun quickly referred this reporter to the CEO, who she said was the only one authorised to speak on the issue. She claimed it was company policy.
“I don’t have the capacity to speak. We have a company policy. Don’t put words into my mouth,” Fagun said before hanging up.
Calls put across to Mr Fola Aiyesimoju, the CEO, to get his position, were neither answered not returned in as much as they rang out. The text message also sent to his phone was ignored as well.
On the other hand, the phone of Nicol-Omeruah, the Deputy CEO was switched off when The Boss tried to reach out to her.
The Boss also tried to get the views of Mr Oshilaja, but he vehemently refused to speak on the matter, saying categorically that “it is not my business as I am only a non executive director. It is the management and executive that has a right to talk about it,” a rather angry Oshilaja said, ending with “I don’t want to talk to you” as he dropped the call.
In 2017, the occupiers of the apartments, who are not tenants but owners invested in the property with the expectation that the facility will be well run and managed efficiently by UPDC Plc. And for three years, the occupiers and the management have been having a running battle as a result of a renege in the agreement that brought them together.
The two parties, from the onset, agreed as follows:
• the apartments were to be jointly managed by UPDC Plc and the owners;
• UPDC Plc will provide a safe and peaceful environment
• Service charge budget proposed by UPDC Plc would be approved by the EXCO before any expenditure is carried out
• Ban on commercial and illicit activities
• Ban on street parties and noise pollution
• there would be a dedicated recreation area for residents and their families to relax (a rooftop garden and an area within the complex earmarked as a recreational centre)
But the owner/occupiers have claimed that none of these agreed terms has been followed through.
They call on the Federal Government and Lagos State Government to conduct a thorough investigation on the affairs of the estate as well as other private estates to determine the level or rot and corruption being perpetrated.
They accuse private facility managers of maximising profit to the detriment of the owner/occupiers through illegal and criminal activities.
It would not be forgotten that to give credence to concerns of the residents, on Saturday November 28, 2020 a team from the NDLEA stormed the UPDC Residence Apartment, Amuwo Odofin LG at about 6:45am and arrested about 48 male occupants of the short let apartments who were in possession of illicit substances and materials all found inside their UPDC managed apartments.
In his parting statements, Mr. Odhomor reiterated that “there is a high pressured gas pipeline feeding the IPP which runs along the perimeter fence of the complex. UPDC Plc has allowed abandoned vehicles to be parked on top of the gas pipeline.
“We have made several complaints to UPDC Plc about the vehicles parked on this pipeline that has the potential to cause an explosion if not cleared but our concerns have fallen on deaf ears.
“We have recently discovered that there is another potential hotspot right within the complex. Behind the shopping mall, there is a gas tank that houses two giant compressed gas cylinders which is designed to have a cooling system to ensure that the compressed air and gas do not reach extremely high temperature and explode.
“Apparently the cooling system has been faulty for several years and is yet to be fixed by UPDC Plc so this chamber is running without the required and essential component.
“The gas chamber is situated directly behind the shopping mall which attracts over three thousand people daily many of whom are children!
“There is also a Children fun park very close to the gas tank. The children park attracts over 500 children during the weekend.
“This potentially dangerous life threatening situation has been left unresolved for several years.
“You can imagine the impact of an explosion of this magnitude, the loss of lives and damage to properties.
“The public outcry will be unprecedented, especially as this will be coming on the back of the recent explosions in Lagos,” he warned.
Only in October, a gigantic snake was found and killed within the complex. The residents believe that it could only mean that there are others maybe even within the building itself and its environs.
“There is no gainsaying the obvious; nothing works in this estate, except high unbearable service charge and noise pollution occasioned by the marquee mounted and leased to party makers every weekend to disturb the peace of the occupants; government should help us get rid of bunch of managers,” Odhormor concluded.
UPDC reportedly makes a sum not less than Two Hundred and Six Million, Nine Hundred and Ten Thousand Naira (N206, 910, 000) on deposit service charge collected from residents. A total of 15 per cent of the above sum is paid to the company as management service fee and another 10 per cent as mark ups for power/energy fee. It is therefore, not expected that the company would cut corners for any reason, to the detriment of the residents.
By Eric Elezuo
Mrs. Olufunlola Aderinokun, widow of late former Chief Executive Officer, Guaranty Trust Bank, Tayo Aderinokun, has raised alarm over illegal, dangerous construction and encroachment into her property, Rehoboth Place, situated along Banana Island Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, by the Shell Staff Cooperative Investment and Thrift Society Limited, alerting Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu through an S.O.S letter to intervene, call the offenders to order, and save her building, its occupants and the general public from more present and unforeseen harm.
Speaking exclusively to The Boss, Mrs. Aderinokun lamented the recalcitrant stance of the Shell Staff Cooperative Investment and Thrift Society Limited, whose building shares a common perimeter fence with Rehoboth Place, and how they have continued their illegal construction, which has consistently defaced Rehoboth Place, in spite of cautions and deterring efforts employed by the government and the residents of Rehoboth Place.
“You need to visit the site to see how these people have defaced an already sitting building, causing structural damages as well as keeping residents of Rehoboth Place on their toes for fear of more structure collapse and/or imminent danger to lives,” she said.
Recalling that Rehoboth Place was built since 2016 according to all laid down construction rules and specifications, she further stated that on many occasions, the scaffolds and other heavy duty equipment including spanners and huge iron bars, used by the Shell Staff Coop builders, have collapsed and dropped into Rehoboth Place building, causing untold structural defacing and fear of possible fatal bodily harm to the residents. This, according to her, is because the Shell Staff Coop building is less than two metres away from the common fence, while the recommended spacing is from six meters.
Recounting to The Boss the genesis of her ordeal with the building developers and the Lagos State government with the General Manager of Lagos State Building Control Agency and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, whom she believes is showing unbelievable favour to Shell Staff Coop at the expense of injuries to lives and properties at Rehoboth Place, Mrs Aderinokun, a 67 years old retired widow, who claims that she can neither sleep well in her own bedroom nor park her car in her own compound because of the noise, danger, debris and mutilation from the Shell Staff Coop construction, narrated that the whole illegality, as she termed it, is dated back to 2020, when the Shell Staff Coop building construction started the piling work.
“As at then, I was not in the country, and because of the COVID-19 issue, many things were played down. However, when I returned to the country in August 2021, after one and half years away from Nigeria, I discovered that they had damaged my property, Rehoboth Place, extensively. My own letting agent didn’t tell me, but was rather negotiating with the offenders on how to repair the damages. Naturally, I was furious and demanded both a halt on the project and thorough compensation for the extensive damage. Note that by then, at Rehoboth Place, a bungalow, the bore hole, the perimeter fence, and other structures were already completely compromised beyond repair.
“However, in 2023, I mobilised structural engineers and the company that built Rehoboth Place originally, Cappa and D’Alberto Ltd, to begin repairs of all the damages that Shell Staff Coop caused. The Engineers wrote off the compromised bungalow and common fence, and insisted that they must be brought down completely before repairs could commence.
“However, while they were carrying out repair and reconstruction works, materials from the Shell Staff Coop construction continued to drop inside the compound from very high levels, making it impossible for safe and healthy work to continue at Rehoboth Place. Debris of cement, water, polystyrene particles and bars, tools and other dangerous materials were constantly dropping into Rehoboth Place from high levels, and so the workmen had to abandon the job, and ran for dear life. It wasn’t safe. It was not healthy. Cappa & D’Alberto Ltd wrote to demobilise from the site of Rehoboth Place in July 2023, and cannot return to the site till date because of the danger from Shell Staff Coop construction, while Lagos State looks away!
“As at today, I can’t park my car in my own compound. The huge terrace at Rehoboth Place, next to the building of Shell Staff Coop and the swimming pool at Rehoboth Place, have not been usable since May 2023, till date. While I was getting ready to sue Shell Staff Coop for the damages caused to the building, the scaffolding of Shell Staff Coop fell on the 5th floor of Rehoboth Place on 19th July 2023. This could amount to a criminal offence under the laws of Lagos State as it constitutes danger to human life and public safety,” she said.
Mrs Aderinokun’s complaints to the Lagos State Building Control Agency, under Mr Gbolahan Oki, led to an inspection and subsequent sealing of the site to stop further construction in July 2023.
“Mr Oki stated to me over the phone on 1st November 2023 that the Shell Staff Coop will pay for the damages, and that, ‘even if it’s the governor that is the one building there, they (Lagos State) will do the right thing’. I’m surprised that Mr. Oki is the one who’s no longer responding to the matter today. And on January 15, 2024, the Lagos State government allowed Shell Staff Coop to return to site, and resume construction, alarmingly without addressing any of the reasons for sealing up the Shell Staff Coop building for almost 6 months! The knocks from the close construction of Shell Staff Coop woke me up from my bed on 15th January 2024 and have continued until now, 7 days a week,” she noted.
As a follow up, Aderinokun recalled that on January 20, 2024, writing in her capacity as the Director of her company, Quadro Investment Limited, owner of the property, Rehoboth Place, she again appealed to the Lagos State Building Control Agency via the General Manager, and re-detailed the hazards that the construction of the Shell Staff Coop portend, and continues to unleash, and appealed that the government should put a stop to the building or at most curtail the dangers inherent. She wondered why the construction was allowed to resume six months after sealing up, with nothing to show that due diligence has been done.
The letter, which was titled “Re: Construction of Multiple Storey Building Against Building Regulations Along Banana Island Road, Etisalat LGA, Ikoyi, Lagos, Which Shares a Common Perimeter Fence with Our Property, Rehoboth Place”, reminded the Agency that the ongoing construction of the Shell Staff Coop, was sealed up by Lagos State officials on July 25 2023, when they visited and they discovered certain unpalatable infractions including absence of airspace and protection against damage to the adjoining premises of Rehoboth Place and others, among many other inanities.
In their capacity as a regulatory agency, the LSBCA had, in July 2023, assessed the scene and discovered as follows:
1. That the safety nets were not properly installed,
2. Blockade of public drainage facilities as a result of the construction work,
3. Damage of adjoining property due to effects of construction,
4. Inadequate airspace of right side of the structure.
Therefore, the Agency came up with certain recommendations, which were pasted on the fence of the construction site of Shell Building Cooperative. The recommendation was a point-blank order to stop the construction of the building as a result of the following reasons: 1. The development was unauthorized 2. The development did not conform to the planning permit issued by the Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority. 3. There’s no authorization to commence construction by LSBCA as required by law, and 4. The structure erected is contrary to Building Control Standards.
The Agency concluded its recommendation with sealing up authorization that the building should stop henceforth with the service of the Order.
“That was on 25 July 2023, but the construction resumed on 15 January 2024 with no evidence of the noted hazards controlled, and events at the site have continued to put Rehoboth Place and its occupants in harm’s way, The 10 inches spanner fell onto the ground floor of Rehoboth Place on 29th January 2024, from a height of about 7 or more floors of the building of the Shell Staff Coop! If the spanner had fallen on the head of anyone at Rehoboth Place, the fatality that could have happened can only be imagined” Aderinokun lamented.
The letter is presented in details below:
22 January 2024.
The General Manager,
Lagos State Building Control Agency,
Muiz Banire Street,
Off Oba Akinjobi Way,
GRA, Ikeja.
Dear Sir,
RE: CONSTRUCTION OF MULTIPLE STOREY BUILDING AGAINST BUILDING REGULATIONS ALONG BANANA ISLAND ROAD, ETI-OSA L.G.A. IKOYI, LAGOS; WHICH SHARES A COMMON PERIMETER FENCE WITH OUR PROPERTY REHOBOTH PLACE.
The above-described development, which is an ongoing construction and adjacent to our property, Rehoboth Place (at Plots 16-17, along Banana Island Road, Ikoyi, Lagos) was sealed up by your agency on 25th July 2023 for a number of infractions, amongst which were the absence of protection and airspace against damage to the adjoining premises of Rehoboth Place and others. Please find attached here, copies of the contravention notice and stop work order pasted by your Agency on the construction site.
On 16th January 2024, work recommenced at the construction and it appears that the property has been unsealed. This is despite the continued absence of protection on the construction works and airspace to Rehoboth Place. As a result, both our property (Rehoboth Place) and its occupants have been placed back at risk of suffering substantial damage, serious injury and/or death due to debris and other things falling into Rehoboth Place from the construction site. Please find attached here, photos of some of the items that have fallen into Rehoboth Place from the adjoining construction site before the sealing up of the site by your Agency.
Further, the building remains less than the stipulated distance from its boundary with Rehoboth Place, which is a clear, and continuing breach of building regulations.
In the circumstances, we are left to speculate as to the reasons why the construction site has been permitted to continue, even as the specific contraventions, for which it was ordered to stop work, continue un-remediated, almost 6 months later. It would appear that the attitude that has resulted in a number of building tragedies in Lagos State continues to prevail within your Agency.
We hereby notify you that we will not fold our arms and do nothing, while our property is exposed to further trespass and the possibility of serious injury and/or loss of life to its occupants. Should any injury and/or death be suffered by anyone at all, please be in no doubt that a report will be made to law enforcement agencies and the contents of this letter and those of our other appeals to Lagos State on this matter, will be brought to the attention of the appropriate authorities.
In the circumstances, we are constrained to issue this notice demanding that you enforce the building regulations on the above-stated construction works, failing which we shall have no option, other than to institute legal proceedings to compel you to fulfil your statutory obligations.
Thank you.
Yours faithfully,
Olufunlola K. Aderinokun.
Director.
With no commensurate response from the LSBCA, and the sensing the criminal intent, Aderinokun petitioned the Commissioner of Police, CP Fayoade, and copied the AIG zone 2, the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice and the Commissioner for Environment, to use his good office to stop the construction before injuries or even death are recorded.
The letter is produced below:
20 February 2024.
The Commissioner of Police,
Lagos State Police Headquarters,
Muiz Banire Street,
GRA, Ikeja,
Lagos State.
Dear Sir,
RE: PETITION ON THE BUILDING CONSTRUCTION THAT IS AGAINST PUBLIC SAFETY, CONTRARY TO SECTION 123 OF THE CRIMINAL LAW OF LAGOS STATE, 2015, CURRENTLY TAKING PLACE AT THE PROPERTY THAT ADJOINS REHOBOTH PLACE (A RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT) SITUATE ALONG BANANA ISLAND ROAD, IKOYL, LAGOS.
We are the owner of Rehoboth Place, situate at Plots 16-17, Banana Island Road, Ikoyi, Lagos.
The construction works adjoining Rehoboth Place belongs to, The Shell Staff Cooperative Investment and Thrift Society Limited, whose office address is at Freeman House, 21/22 Marina, Lagos State.
Please refer to the above subject matter and the self-explanatory letter, which is attached here, dated 22 January 2024, written by us to the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LSBCA).
In addition to the contents and attachments to our said letter written to the LSBCA, please find attached here, photos of 3 (three) more injurious items, which fell into Rehoboth Place from the adjoining compound at various times.
The big blue piece of iron (contained in the attachment to the letter to the LSBCA), which weighs about 8 kilograms, fell from the adjoining compound into Rehoboth Place, sometime in July 2023, while the 10 inches spanner, fell from the adjoining compound into Rehoboth Place at about 10.45am on 29th January 2024. The iron rod that is about 60 inches long, weighs two & a half kilograms.
All the items fell onto the ground floor of Rehoboth Place from heights of 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th floors of the adjoining construction works, which are obviously being constructed, too close to Rehoboth Place and other neighbouring properties, in contravention of the building laws, regulations and permits of Lagos State.
We hereby, humbly appeal to your office, to take all necessary action to investigate the ongoing danger to human life and public safety, that is being posed by the owners and occupiers of the property adjoining Rehoboth Place.
Furthermore, we appeal to you, to use your good offices to ensure that the said dangerous construction works, which are being carried out in the adjoining compound to Rehoboth Place are stopped immediately before any further crime in committed, particularly before the occurrence of any loss of life or serious injury to anyone,
We trust in your kind and urgent attention to this matter.
Thank you.
Yours faithfully,
DIRECTOR.
Cc:
1. The Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice,
Lagos State Ministry of Justice,
The secretariat, Block 2,
Alausa, Ikeja.
2 The Assistant Inspector-General of Police,
The Nigeria Police Force, Zone 2,
Command Headquarters,
King George V Road, Onikan,
Lagos State.
3. The Commissioner of Environment and Water Resources,
Ministry of Environment and Water Resources,
The Lagos State secretariat,
Alausa, Ikeja.
With no response from the General Manager, Mr Gbolahan Oki, the Rehoboth Place owner, having established a criminal intent with the Police, resorted to writing the governor one more time, whom she had been privileged to discuss the matter with via phone and in person on several occasions. It is on record that Aderinokun had earlier on August 8, 2023 and November 28, 2023 written to the governor on the same issue. But like the manager of Lagos State Building Control Agency, neither the governor nor his office responded.
“They practically called my bluff, without a care of what their silence and inaction on these matters is causing to me personally, to other members of the public and/or may cause in the future,” Aderinokun said.
Below is the full letter addressed to the governor:
29th February 2023.
Mr. Governor, Babajide Sanwoolu,
Executive Governor,
Lagos State of Nigeria,
Governor’s Office,
Alausa,
Lagos State.
Dear Mr. Governor,
PLEASE, SAVE OUR SOULS.
RE: IN RESPECT OF THE ONGOING CONSTRUCTION OF MULTIPLE STOREY BUILDING AGAINST BUILDING REGULATIONS ALONG BANANA ISLAND ROAD, ETI-OSA L.G.A. IKOYI, LAGOS; POSING A DANGER TO THE ADJOINING PROPERTY-REHOBOTH PLACE AND HAS CAUSED STRUCTURAL DAMAGES & COLLAPSE OF STRUCTURES AT REHOBOTH PLACE.
I am the managing director of Quadro Investment Limited, the registered owner of Rehoboth Place, which is situated at Plots 16-17, along Banana Island Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, built and completed in the year 2016.
The owner of the ongoing construction which shares a common fence with Rehoboth Place, is Shell Staff Co-operative Investment & Thrift Society Limited (hereinafter called, “Shell Staff Cooperative”) with office address at Freeman House, 21/22 Marina, Lagos.
I am hereby writing an S.O.S., Save Our Souls to Mr. Governor for the reasons set out below.
1. People are continuously exposed to danger of serious injury and/or death at Rehoboth Place because the Lagos State authorities have allowed the construction work by Shell Staff Cooperative to continue, despite the danger it poses to the neighbourhood, its continuous pollution to the environment and the fact that it does not meet the building laws and regulations of Lagos State.
2. In respect of this subject matter, Quadro Investment Limited has written to:
2.1 you, Mr. Governor, by its letters dated 08 August 2023 and 28th November 2023;
2.2 the Lagos State Building Control Agency by its letter dated 22 January 2024;
2.3 the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, by its letter dated 20 February 2024. This letter was copied to, the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Lagos State and the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Nigeria Police Force and the Commissioner of Environment and Water Resources, Lagos State.
Copies of the letters stated in 2.2 and 2.3 above are attached here.
3. In addition to the above, I have made several personal appeals to you, imploring you to grant me an audience to meet with you, to explain the situation to you after my letters and for you to look into this matter and direct Lagos State authorities to ensure that its own Building Regulations and Laws are adhered to in the construction by Shell Staff Cooperative. Unfortunately, all my efforts appear to have been ignored.
4. The on-going construction by Shell Staff Cooperative, which is on its 9th floor and still going up, stands less than 2 meters to its common fence with Rehoboth Place and has caused extensive damage, including collapse of structures at Rehoboth Place. It is posing a danger to life and health in the neighbourhood and at Rehoboth Place. While Lagos State has allowed the construction by Shell Staff Cooperative to continue, the owners of Rehoboth Place cannot use their own property, for fear of danger to life!!
5. Injurious and life-threatening items like big iron bars, weighing 8kg, other iron rods weighing 3kg and 1kg, a 10 inches long spanner, huge polypyrene bars have fallen from heights of 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th floors of the ongoing construction by Shell Staff Cooperative into the ground floor of Rehoboth Place at various times in 2023, and on 29th January 2024. Also, rains of construction water, cement, dust and particles of polypyrene and nylon continuously shower and fly into the airspace, terraces, swimming pool, onto motor vehicles, other valuable properties and indoor living areas at Rehoboth Place. Please find attached hereto, photos to back this up.
6. The scaffolding being used for the construction by Shell Staff Cooperative fell onto the 5th floor of Rehoboth Place on 19th July 2023, which led to a Contravention Notice and a Stop Work Order being pasted on the construction site of Shell Staff Cooperative on 25 July 2023. Please find photos attached here. From then on, the site remained closed for work, for about 6 months, until 15th January 2024, when work suddenly resumed at the constructions of Shell Staff Cooperative, without addressing a single one of the reasons for the sealing up of the premises as stated in the Contravention Notice, including the non-application of safety net on the construction site. Please find attached here, shown in the videos recorded in the flash drive and photos of the dangling scaffolding on Rehoboth Place.
7. Since 15th January 2024, construction by Shell Staff Cooperative have continued, 7 days a week, including outside regulated working hours in a residential area, during night time hours, without any regard for neighbours. They start as early as 7am, waking me up from my sleep with consistent provocative sounds of hammer/iron knocking on iron, 7 days a week, week after week, without any break. Also, on 26th of January 2024, I was woken up from my sleep at 12.00 midnight because of the noise of the truck, working past midnight at the constructions of Shell Staff Cooperative. Please find the proof of this shown in the videos recorded in the flash drive attached here.
8. The non-stop early morning knocking noise (7 days a week) from construction by Shell Staff Cooperative have had untold impact on my brain, psychology and well-being. Part of the reasons that certain distances are prescribed and legislated between buildings, is to avoid noise from one building into another. Since 15th January 2024 to date, it has been like living on a construction site at Rehoboth Place, every day, non-stop, and not a single day of break. Sir, please permit me to add here, that by God’s grace, I am a 67 (sixty-seven) years old widow, resident and indigene of Lagos State.
9. I cannot walk around my compound, I cannot park my car in my own home at Rehoboth Place and we are not able to use our terraces, because of the showers of cement, dirt, dust and polystyrene particles raining from the constructions of Shell Staff Cooperative, onto our cars, other valuables and terraces at Rehoboth Place. Also, we have not been able to use the swimming pool at Rehoboth Place since April 2023 up to the date of this appeal. Please find attached here, the photo of the unhealthy materials from the construction by Shell Staff Cooperative inside the pool and on our terraces at Rehoboth Place, even inside our flower pots on the 5th floor!!!
10. Yet, Lagos State is looking away from this blatant disregard of its building regulations and laws, pollution of the environment, to favour the constructions of Shell Staff Cooperative at the expense of the users of Rehoboth Place.
11. Meanwhile, Lagos State recently banned the use of styrofoams and single use plastics in the State. Sir, it is my humble opinion that Lagos State needs to go further and ban the use of polystyrene in construction sites. The construction workers of Shell Staff Cooperative have been seen cutting into smaller bars, at high levels of 6th, 7th, 8th floors, huge polystyrene bars, without any protection, thereby spraying unhealthy particles of polystyrene, with high health hazards to the neighbourhood and onto Rehoboth Place.
12. Also shown in the videos recorded in the flash drive attached to this letter, is the video of Mr. Gbolahan Oki, the General Manager of the Lagos State Building Control Agency when he visited Rehoboth Place on 2nd November 2023. Unfortunately, Mr. Oki has not matched his words with actions and instead, has allowed the constructions of Shell Staff Cooperative to continue, despite the potential of the occurrence of a catastrophe.
13. Sir, my life and the lives of others are being put to danger by the construction of Shell Staff Cooperative, particularly because of its closeness to Rehoboth Place.
14. Sir, I’m not willing to wait until people are seriously injured and/or someone dies, before I cry out to the public. There is a potential of criminal offence being committed by the closeness of the constructions of Shell Staff Cooperative to Rehoboth Place. The photos and videos that I have attached here and the sealing up of the construction by Shell Staff Cooperative for about 6 months by Lagos State, speak volumes and I am sincerely not exaggerating.
15. Again, I hereby personally implore Mr. Governor, to use your good office to ensure that another unfortunate catastrophe related to building collapse, serious human injury and/or death does not happen in Lagos State, in this matter.
Sir, I am trusting in your speedy good judgement in this matter. Thank you, Sir.
Yours faithfully,
Mrs. Olufunlola K. Aderinokun (née Agusto).
It will be noted that building collapse has remained a recurring decimal in Lagos State. One can recall that a massive Ikoyi building, located not too far from Rehoboth Place, collapsed in 2022, and claimed lives of prominent Nigerians with many other budding professionals.
“All we are doing is to prevent a disaster lurking in the corner, and for me to have a safe and peaceful possession of my property,” Aderinokun concluded.
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