Legit.ng journalist Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon has over a decade of experience in business reporting across digital and mainstream media.

The Lagos state government will start marking out structures for demolition on Banana Island, on Monday, February 17.

The structures include illegal buildings that have failed to comply with set rules.

The general manager of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), Gbolahan Oki, disclosed this at the stakeholders meeting on the Island on Thursday, February 13, 2025.

According to Oki, the buildings to be pulled down violate one or more of the building codes and regulations mapped out by the government and pose safety risks to the residents.

According to a Vanguard report, some structures also encroach on prohibited areas, or areas mapped out for safety reasons.

Oki said some of the structures were built too close to the shoreline or beneath high-tension power lines. He explained that developers were required to leave at least 150 metres of space from the shoreline before constructing any building.

However, even after reducing the requirement to 100 metres, many structures still fall within the danger zone.

The LASBCA general manager disclosed that the marking of the buildings would last a week, from Monday 17 to Friday 21 February 2025.

The LASBCA general manager stated that after the week of marking the structures, the owners had one more week of grace to get ready any documents they needed to prove they had not defaulted on the law.

He said:

“After that, I am going to pull everything down.”

Demolition of the illegal structures is expected to commence on March 3, 2025.

Oki insisted that these structures posed a risk to the residents, and the government was putting the lives of residents above the value of properties

Recall that illegal structures had also been pulled down in other locations including Abulegba, Iyana-Isheri, and Mayegun Waterfront.

Earlier, special adviser to governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on e-GIS and planning matters, Dr Babatunde Olajide, said the Land Use Act makes the Lagos state government the final authority on Land matters within the state.

He noted that there was a master plan for the Banana Island area and that unauthorised sand-filling and land reclamation were disrupting the plan. Olajide called on Lagos residents to cooperate with the government.

In his response, Mr Abidemi Sonaike, the Chairman of Banana Island Association pledged that the residents would cooperate with the government to resolve all the issues affecting the estate.

In related news, the Lagos state government demolished illegal structures and shanties in several areas including the Apongbon bridge, and on the setback of Savage/Elegbata/Bombata drainage channel, Lagos Island.

Several buildings under construction were also sealed off for placing construction materials and building equipment on the roads and on drainage channels.

The government mandated the building owners to take their building materials and equipment off the roads and channels before they could continue construction.

Proofreading by James, Ojo Adakole, journalist and copy editor at Legit.ng.

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Source: Legit.ng