The Fourscore Homes luxury flats on 44B Gerrard Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, collapsed on November 1, 2021, killing over 50 people, including the owner of Fourscore Heights Limited, the project initiator, Mr. Femi Osibona.
The Lagos State Government had announce the takeover of the site and possible demolition of the other two buildings adjacent to the collapsed luxury edifice, both built by the same developer, to reveal the owners of the collapsed building.
The Nation learnt that the state government’s threat to demolish the two buildings next to the collapsed one was based on an integrity test that favored the action in order to prevent the loss of more lives on such grand scale. But as it turned out, the state government’s plan to demolish the two building did not go down well with investors who were said to have invested huge sums of money, in dollars, in the project.
As a result, the investors, who are said to have invested N15 billion in the project, have filed a lawsuit against the state government to seek redress. About 15 of them went to court to recover their investments.
A.U. filed the summons, dated August 12, 2022, and marked Suit No LD/3962LM/22, on behalf of 15 of the subscribers. Mustapha, a senior lawyer, appeared in front of the Lagos State High Court.
The Governor of Lagos State, the Attorney-General of Lagos, the State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), and Edge of Design Limited are the defendants in the suit.
They are also asking the court to declare, among other things, that the agreements between Fourscore Heights Limited and each of the claimants to acquire units of flats, with agreed considerations paid, entitled the claimants to equitable rights and interests in the other two towers at 44BCD, Gerrard Road, Ikoyi.
They also want the court to hold that the first, second, third and fourth defendants were negligent in the performance of their duties by failing and/or neglecting to supervise the construction of one of the three towers; that the first, second, third and fourth defendants cannot benefit from their negligence by compulsorily, wrongfully, illegally and punitively acquiring or threatening to acquire the property at 44BCD through forfeiture and/or purported forfeiture to the Lagos State Government following the collapse of one of the towers.
They also want the court to declare that any demolition of the two other towers when independent evidence of an unfavourable non-destructive test results has not been produced will adversely affect the equitable interests of the claimants in the said properties; that the claimants’ equitable interests in the property cannot be expropriated and/or divested by the Government of Lagos State or any of its agencies. The “overt move” and the action taken and being embarked and contemplated to be embarked upon to demolish or preparing to demolish the structures of Towers 2 and 3 of the property is a flagrant violation of the caimants’ equitable interest in the aforesaid property.
The claimants are seeking an order restraining the defendants from trespassing or further trespassing, demolishing or further demolishing the properties known as Tower 2 and Tower 3 until an independent audit of the property is carried out by the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN).
The claimants are also seeking an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendants from disturbing, interfering with, taking, receiving or in any way taking possession of, demolishing, divesting and/or revoking the title, disposing of all or any part of the property, landed or otherwise. The claimants have applied to the judge to grant ex-parte originating motion during the court’s annual vacation.
The Nation learnt that among the unlucky investors are big businessmen and women: A senior lawyer, Mr. Oluwemimo Adepoju Ogunde (SAN); a pastor, Mr. Adetola Odutola; Mr. Bola Odutola, Mrs. Bunmi Odutola, Mr. Ghandi Olaoye, Ms. Zahra Temitope Motomori, Mr. Adewale Folowosele, Mr. Moses Anibaba, Mrs. Margret Anibaba, Dr. Oladipo Oluyomi, Mrs. Adepeju Oluyomi and Mr. Tayo Oladapo.
There are also two companies, Kwara Business School Limited and Saikoyi Property Limited. The owners are not specified. However, the investors’ decision to drag the matter to court has elicited reactions, with observers wondering where they had been all this while.
Other questions posed by observers are: why did the investors not approach the panel of inquiry set up by the government to say all they knew about the property? Are they more interested in their money than the lives lost in the misadventure?
A reliable source close to the state government, however, said the state was studying the memorandum of claim served on the company handling the demolition of the two buildings that were left standing after the incident.
“However, it is not right for them to say that the government can’t take over the property. The law states explicitly that when a property collapses, the government automatically takes over the property,” the source said.
The source, who declined to be mentioned, added: “It’s all in the public interest and the government said so. Where were they when the Panel of Inquiry sat and took far-reaching decisions on the matter.
The government has even issued a White Paper. Were they ashamed of claiming their right? Don’t you wonder the kind of investors we are talking about? They couldn’t even ask for insurance before shelling out the huge cash they claimed to have paid the late owner of the property.”
Some of the investors said they paid the late Osibona various sums of money in dollars – $120,000, $111,111. 11, $20,000, $315,586.78 and $7,708.
The investors argued that it was the alleged negligence of government agencies that led to the collapse of the building. But a source who testified at the sitting of the Panel of Inquiry said that there was evidence that the site was sealed off by the Ministry of Physical Planning.
“The Ministry’s officials were attacked at the site. In fact, the promoter of the project was arrested. The site was reopened and the promoter was yet to show proof of all he was asked to do before the building collapsed,” the source said, adding “now, they want to put the blame on the government; that is being clever by half.”
The source, however, said: “Now that the owners or potential owners of the doomed property have shown their faces, those who lost their loved ones in the collapsed building can go after them for compensation.”
Commenting, an engineer, Sola George, said it appeared the complainants or plaintiffs invested in the building projects in the belief or hope to become owners of parts of the buildings after safe construction.
He said now that two of the three buildings were still standing and had stood for almost 10 months after a very major collapse close to them, it appears the complainants feel the standing buildings are still viable.
George, however, said it was not indicated if the complainants have done their own independent assessment of the buildings.
On the part of government, he carpeted them for not publishing a detailed professional structural engineering report to justify the demolition of the buildings.
He said: “Even if the buildings have defects, the right level of expertise should be sought anywhere in the world to determine whether such defects can be countered, contained or repaired. This is certainly a very interesting case, indeed. I believe all parties will benefit from the resolutions of the issues.”
The Lagos State Government is yet to react to calls by the subscribers for a meeting nor to the suit they instituted against it.
