A powerful cabal comprising mostly of very powerful and influential Nigerians are believed to be behind the scam that led to the collapse of the building owned by Lekki Gardens in Lagos, investigations have revealed.
Our correspondent’s investigations shows that Messrs’ Lekki Worldwide Estate Limited, owners of the collapsed building in Lekki that killed 35 people revealed a Company that has taken the art of flouting government building controls and regulations to another unacceptable level.
It could be recalled that Lekki Worldwide Estate came into the limelight a few years ago with its Lekki Gardens Signature Houses that were quick to build and relatively affordable to the Nigerian middle class.
In a short while, the Lekki Gardens Brand became the toast of the property market and the Company was smiling to the bank, but unknown to the public, the Company was alleged to have been cutting corners in the use of substandard materials, as well as failing to obtain appropriate State approved Development Permits.
Preliminary investigations by also revealed that the Company currently has 34 active building sites in Eti-Osa, Ikeja G.R.A, Ikoyi/Victoria Island and Banana Island but shockingly has only obtained development permit for two out of 34 sites, thus raising the question as to how this relatively young Company with its 34 year old billionaire owner was able to get away with this impunity.
As a punitive measure for dereliction of duty, the Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode had fired some top officials of the Lagos State Building Control Agency on grounds of negligence. He also set up a committee to investigate the building control and regulatory regime in Lagos State.
Though records available at the Corporate Affairs Commission showed that Richard Nyong, a native of Akwa Ibom State is the owner of the Company that is reputed to be worth billions of Naira, however our sources insist that the real owner is the former Governor of a Akwa Ibom State, Godwill Akpabio, a claim he has debunked serially.
Nyong and the former Governor have reportedly built a huge coterie of consultants ranging from retired and serving senior police officers, Judges, top politicians (including an Island based Lagos State House of Assembly member with interest in building and construction), retired and serving civil servants and other influential members of the society to assist in flouting Government building regulations and controls.
Nyong and his contractor, one Henry Odofin were recently arrested by the Nigerian police and remanded in custody for 30 days by an Ebute-Metta Magistrate Court to enable the police conduct investigations into the matter.
However in a curious twist, investigations have revealed that the Company may have paid its Consultants about N50 million in two tranches of N30 million and N20 million to ensure that Nyong was released from police custody before the expiration of the 30 day remand period stipulated by the Magistrate Court.
The Magistrate who was recently re-deployed by the State Judiciary has also been fingered in the plot to ensure Nyong was freed from custody.
Sources within the Lagos State Government said they were not unaware of the huge resources available to the Company but vowed that government would not be deterred in pursuing those behind the acts that have caused the loss of lives of innocent Lagosians.
The source insisted that the State Government investigations have so far shown that most of the structures were built with substandard materials and in flagrant disregard of Town Planning Laws and Regulations.
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