Lagos State Building Control Agency (LABSCA) has demolished rows of lockup shops in the Laurel School Cross, located in the Bungalow Estate axis within the Jakande Estate area of Isolo Local Government Area, Lagos State.
The affected residents, who are major predominantly petty traders, shared their sad ordeal that began in the early Wednesday afternoon when a team of LASBCA task force officials, accompanied by armed security officers, arrived equipped with chainsaws and sledgehammers to demolish shops and community spaces.
Upon arrival at the scene on Thursday morning, the traumatized traders attempting to salvage their goods and valuables from the debris was witnessed.
Some of the traders alleged that they did not receive any prior demolition notice from the government.
LABSCA’s demolition notice posted on their website, stated that owners and developers of identified structures were given a seven-day notice period to demolish the structures and failure to comply would result in a LABSCA taskforce intervention.
Part of the notice read, “UNDERLISTED Distressed Structures in the State shall be removed by Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) having served all the statutory enforcement notices in consonance with the Lagos State Urban and Regional Planning and Development (Amendment) Law of 2019 and with no response from the respective Owner/Developer.
“Following the above, a final notice is hereby given that if the under-listed distressed structures are not removed within seven days (7) of this notice by their respective Owners/Developers in line with regulatory provision of the law, such Structure shall be removed.”
However, many of the victims who spoke to Journalists complained that they did not receive any Demolition Notice from the agency.
Mrs. John, one of the affected residents, tearfully lamented how her source of livelihood was reduced to rubble within minutes.
She said, “I’m shocked that these people (LASBCA and security officers) came in large numbers and suddenly started demolishing our shops. They gave us no notice. They came here, marked our building, removed all our goods, and began demolishing all the shops in Laurel Street.”
“I am a widow, and we’ve been selling foodstuffs and provisions here for over 10 years. We abide by the law and have never had any issues with government agencies. But look at how they have treated us. Where do I go from here?” Mrs. John cried.
Another trader, who chose to remain anonymous, also lamented that they never received any notice from LABSCA.
“I never knew the government could be this cruel to the poor. We don’t know what we have done to deserve this kind of treatment.
“I’ve been trading here peacefully for many years, and we never received any demolition notice from the Lagos government. So when they came to destroy our shops, we pleaded with them to give us a few days to move out our goods, but they said they had express orders to bring down our shops,” the woman lamented.
In response to the allegations, LABSCA spokesperson, Mrs. Adetayo Asagba, informed 9JA NEWS that the shops were demolished because they were built under electric wires in the estate.
“LABSCA has consistently warned against constructing structures under high-tension wires. Therefore, the rows of shops were destroyed because they were built illegally under high-tension wires,” she stated.
“The occupants of the shops were duly served notices before the demolition began. The last time they were served notices was last week,” Asagba added.
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