The Lagos State Government has ordered the full closure and suspension of activities at the Kiddies section of Wonderland Lagos- an event venue which was meant to deliver a holiday experience of fun & excitement on Monday 26th December, 2022 after a guest was electrocuted at the event venue.

The Director General of the Lagos State Safety Commission, Mr Lanre Mojola in a joint inspection with the Lagos State Task Force team stated that this intervention has become imperative to prevent further exposure of attendees particularly kids at the venue to prevent accidents that can lead to injuires and fatalities.

Mr. Lanre Mojola further disclosed that the event venue owner - Mr Ezekiel Adamu had refused to implement safety measures prescribed by the Commission despite several meetings at the onset of the project following an initial safety inspection exercise carried out on the venue to deliberate on safety infractions observed within the facility.

He further stated that It has however become urgent and pertinent to shut down the facility until all infractions are corrected to prevent users from further exposure to risk especially children and to also ensure that other lined up event are safe for Lagos residents.

The Director General stated that no individual or institution is bigger than the State and it will continually ensure the safety of Lagosians as they go about enjoying the festive season. He further sounded a note of warning to facilities in Lagos that are not in compliance with the State Safety guidelines on events and urged residents to socialise responsibly.

Out of the rubble of ruins, construction of a modern complex for Lagos State High Court in Igbosere has begun.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Monday, performed the sod turning for the redevelopment of the oldest courthouse in the country, two years after the iconic colonial vestige was razed by rampaging hoodlums in an unrest that trailed a protest in October 2020.

The courthouse is being reconstructed by Rebuild Lagos Trust Fund (RLTF) set up by Governor Sanwo-Olu in November 2020 through the Executive Order EO/BOS/2020.

The Fund is saddled with the responsibility of rebuilding and restoring all State’s assets torched in the unrest.

The Igbosere Court, one of the torched assets, dates back to the period when Lagos became the British Protectorate. It was formerly known as the Supreme Court until the relocation of Federal Capital Territory to Abuja when the court reverted to a State High Court.

Sanwo-Olu described the rebuilding effort as a “significant moment” in the administration of the justice system, noting the full restoration of the oldest judicial institution would help the State put the history of the courthouse in proper perspective.

The Governor said the Igbosere Court remained a symbolic heritage deeply ensconced in the sociology of Lagos. He assured that the courthouse would not only be restored with modernised facade to exhibit full traits of its architecture, its facilities would also be upgraded to strengthen administration of justice system.

He said: “This is a simple but significant event in the judiciary. I am humble to be performing the groundbreaking for the redevelopment of the Lagos High Court, Igbosere. We are on a journey to restore this architectural legacy, which has been part of Lagos heritage. We have put together a well-thought-out team comprising private sector professionals and Government officials to efficiently manage the Rebuild Lagos Trust Fund charged with the task to build back assets of the State destroyed by hoodlums.

“The team is to come together to advise and work with us while we continue this rebuild journey. This project is one of the several others that the Fund will be handling together. In the first phase, we will be replicating the design of the Igbosere Court and every feature of the building to recreate the facade of the old building. We are rebuilding a bigger edifice for Lady Justice. The courthouse will be brought back to life to ensure we have smooth dispensation of justice for our citizens.”

Sanwo-Olu maintained that Lagos had no hand in the event that led to the razing of the courthouse and other State assets, stressing that the State had put the emotions behind the dark event and looked ahead to build a city where wheels of justice would not be placed out of the reach of all citizens.

The new courthouse, the Governor said, would give judges and judicial officers ample space to work, while maintaining the independence of the judiciary.

He said: “We are here to let people know that we have put the emotions behind us. We are forward-looking people. This event further confirms the strong spirit of Lagos and the resilience of the city, which explain our ability to withstand shocks and build back better.

“We will never allow the forces that razed the building to win the battle. That is why we are publicising the reconstruction of the Igbosere Court to let the whole world know and show our resilience. We will be turning this bad situation to positive development.”

The Fund’s Board of Directors chairman, Mr. Olayemi Cardoso, said the Igbosere Court was the significant institution among the six pioneer projects identified by the Fund, given its historical significance to Lagos and the country.

The Fund, he said, remains dedicated to its restoration and upgrade.

“In the first phase, we will rebuild the old court structure, upgrade it to a state-of-the-art facility, and restore the artefacts that are signatures of its history. The second phase of this project will be a multi-story and multi-purpose structure to resolve space constraints and will feature additional office spaces, courtrooms, parking spaces, as well as giving room to future expansion,” Cardoso said.

Lagos Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General, Mr. Moyosore Onigbanjo, SAN, said October 2020 would remain a sad day in the history of the Judiciary, noting that the torching of the court was a “fatal breach” in the temple of justice.

He said dispensing justice was not about brick and mortar, but an idea which could not be killed by destruction and desecration of the temple.

“This redevelopment will raise from the ashes a more beautiful court complex than the one destroyed. With this event, light has overcome darkness,” Onigbanjo said.

Chief Judge of Lagos, Hon. Justice Kazeem Alogba, recalled the last judicial activity in the courthouse before it was razed, noting that the Governor had a plan for massive renovation of the High Court before the incident.

Despite the large scale destruction wreaked on the structure, Alogba said the statue of the Lady Justice conspicuously placed at the entrance of the High Court was not torched and also the statues of lions.

The Chief Judge said the redevelopment effort was a manifestation of the beginning of nature’s plan for the oldest court building in the country.

In the redevelopment, there will be an expansion of the number of courtrooms from 22 to 38 in response to the deficiency in the number of courtrooms in the State.

To eliminate car-parking challenges around the court, a multilevel park would be built in the new complex and a 700-seater auditorium.

Lagos State Government, on Thursday, is set to deconstruct the three uncompleted high-rise structures on the site of a 21-storey building that collapsed on Gerrard Road, Ikoyi, last November.

The structures have failed integrity tests, prompting the State Government to embark on a controlled deconstruction to bring them down.

A structural engineering firm, Edge of Design, will dismantle the twin 14-storey and eight-storey structures on the site in a manner that will not pose any health or environmental hazards to residents in the neighbourhood.

The deconstruction, which is expected to be completed within 90 days, is to be supervised by relevant agencies of the Government and private stakeholders in the built industry.

The development, it was learnt, is part of the recommendations by a six-man panel that investigated the collapse of the 21-storey structure owned by Messrs Fourscore Heights.

The land on which the failed structures sit has been forfeited to the State Government by law. The panel also recommended criminal prosecution of the developer for contravening the State’s building codes.

No fewer than 45 persons, who were mainly construction workers and vendors, died in the incident. Also, the developer, Mr Femi Osibona, died in the collapsed building.

Representative of the contractor, Edge of Design, Mr. Olujimi Lewu, explained the step-by-step process to be employed in bringing down the structures, that the work would be done without any injury or fatality. He illustrated how the slabs would be removed, until the structures come down.

Commissioner for Information and Strategy Mr. Gbenga Omotoso, at a press briefing held at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre in Government Secretariat in Alausa, said safety would be the main consideration in the deconstruction. He said the press conference was in the spirit of transparency for which the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Oku administration is famous.

He stressed that the deconstruction was agreed upon after extensive consultations with stakeholders, residents and regulators in the built industry.

The Commissioner assured residents in the neighbourhood of their safety throughout the exercise, noting that measures had been put in place to ensure that the contractor maintains the agreed safety protocols.

“The deconstruction will be done with one key focus from all stakeholders; this is safety of people in the neighbourhood and everybody that will be working on the site. The recommendations of the panel are being implemented to prevent this kind of incident,” Omotoso said.

Commissioner for Special Duties, Mr. Tayo Bamgbose-Martins, a civil engineer, assured all that reports on the deconstruction would be regularly shared with the public. He described the contractor as competent.

Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr. Idris Salako, shed light on why the State Government took over the property, saying: “Section 74 of the Urban and Regional Planning and Development Laws of Lagos State 2019 (as amended) prescribes that any property that collapses in the State is automatically forfeited to the Government.”

Salako said the State Government had not decided on what to do with the site after the deconstruction.

He said: “When the State Government is ready to revive the site, we will let the public know what we want to do with it. However, I can assure you that the land will not be given to any individual developer or converted to unapproved use by the Government. The site will be used for something that will be of benefit the public.”

After the press briefing, the Government’s team moved to Ikoyi to hand over the site to the contractor

1.   Progress achieved in commercial motorcycles (Okada) restriction under the administration of Governor Babatunde Fashola was reversed between 2015 and 2019. The menace festered to an alarming level, just before the inception of the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu led administration in 2019.
 
2.   On February 1, 2020, Sanwo-Olu-led Government announced a ban on Okada in six Local Government Areas (LGAs) and Nine Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs).
 
3.   On February 27, 2020, Lagos State recorded the first case of Covid-19, which preceded an extensive nationwide lockdown. The attendant economic paralysis created a survival struggle for many low-income earners in Lagos.
 
4.  Between February and September 2020, the slow economic recovery within this period affected many residents, leading the Government to assist struggling families with palliatives. The Okada ban was still in force, but the enforcement was weakened by the plight of struggling residents.
 
5.   On October 2020, the crises that resulted from the nationwide EndSARS protest, which was more pronounced in Lagos, emboldened Okada riders to return in droves to roads, highways and bridges where they had been banned.
 
6.   The police, which led the enforcement against Okada, withdrew from the roads for weeks. The situation led to the influx of commercial motorcycle riders from different parts of the country.
 
7.   On May 18, 2021, Lagos Government launched the First and Last Mile Buses as safe alternatives on routes where Okada had been restricted.
 
8.  From January 2021 to March 2022, there was some enforcement, which resulted in fatalities.
 
9.  On September 24, 2021, a group of Okada riders killed a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), Kazeem Abonde, in Ajao Estate during a violent encounter between the police and some riders.
 
10. Similar violent clashes are usually recorded during enforcement in notorious areas where Okada riders operate on restricted routes.
 
11.  Before the new pronouncement, Okada menace had assumed a disturbing level in Lagos, with residents asking the Government to ban this mode of transportation for safety and security reasons.

12.  The riders have become lawless. They disrespect traffic laws and regulations.
 
13.  They get violent at the slightest provocation, inciting mob actions and jungle justice in which many innocent people have died.
 
14. On May 18, 2022, Governor Sanwo-Olu affirmed that Okada remained banned in Eti-Osa, Ikeja, Surulere, Lagos Island, Lagos Mainland, and Apapa. The ban also extends to all LCDAs under the listed councils as well as all major roads, highways and bridges.
 
16. From June 1, 2022, there will be a sweeping enforcement of the Okada ban in all the listed councils and LCDAs.