A LOUD BANG!...and then the building collapsed

The insider story of the latest Lagos building collapse at Banana Island

On Wednesday 12th April 2023, around 3pm , a 7 storey building under construction collapsed on 1st Avenue within the exclusive and prime community of Banana Island.

Lagos,Nigeria

Nobody died in the incident, which occurred on Wednesday - as of the time of this report. Twenty-five people were rescued from the site, which Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) scanned with a high-precision 3-D Laser Imagery System for life and care as at the time of going to press.

The Lagos State Government has launched a probe into the collapse this morning.

“The Woodlands” , was being built and sold off-plan by 47 year old Joshua Okeowo’s JoeFaraday Limited.

Joshua Okeowo

The “Woodlands” estate development comprises a cluster of 1, 2, 3 & 4-bedroom Flats and 5 & 6-bedroom Detached and Semi-Detached Houses, making a total of 72 units.

Prices of these apartments are:

• 1 bedroom apartment -  ₦ 80,000,000 ($US 194,642.47)

• 2 bedroom apartment - ₦ 109,999,999 ($US 288,941.42)

• 3 bedroom apartment - ₦ 199,999,999 ($US 525,348.04)

• 4 bedroom apartment - ₦ 299,999,998 ($US 788,022.06)

• 5 bedroom apartment - ₦ 649,999,999 ($US 1,707,829.74)

• 6 bedroom apartment - ₦ 750,000,000 ($US 1,829,045.24)

  

  

  The Woodlands , Banana Island

The now collapsed building is part of this residential development located at 102 Close, Banana Island, Lagos named “The Woodlands” and is being developed by Joe Faraday Limited owned by Mr Joshua Okeowo , a developer of 13 years operating within the affluent Ikoyi/Banana Island axis and also younger brother to Lagos real estate developer Chief Olu Okeowo .

This is where it gets interesting….

Chief Olu Okeowo

A few months ago, Chief Olu Okeowo had dragged his siblings to Federal High Court in Lagos (FHC/L/CS/2184/2022 seeking a perpetual injunction against them for a straining order. He alleged he was afraid for his life as his brothers and sisters has unlimited funds to carry out a hostile take-over of his father’s companies Metal Construction (West Africa) Limited and Manna Real Estate Limited.

Chief Olu Okeowo quoted in a signed and sighted affidavit that “..given the actions of the defendants, I have become distressed, disturbed and traumatized . This has led to significant health concerns leading to urgent medical intervention”

In another separate suit (LD/ADR/4661/2022) , he sued two of this brothers (Tolu Okeowo and Joshua Okeowo) seeking 10 (Ten) Billion Naira in damages and a gag order to prevent the brothers from reporting or discussing elements of their grievances and relationship with him regarding inheritances from their late father Chief Taiwo Okeowo.

The question now arises who are the persons after Joshua Okeowo ?

Curiously seconds before the collapse a loud bang was heard at the scene as amateur video circulating on social media witnessed. That video was allegedly recorded from a building under construction across the street owned by Lagos real estate merchant Mr Sijibomi Ogundele popularly known as SujiMoto .

Sijibomi Ogundele and his mother at his Lagos Home.

A question arose . How was the videographer of that video at that spot at that material time and that particular location ? Could it be a coincidence ? A very extra-ordinary coincidence.

The initial reports circulating around social media told a narrative of a truck hitting one of the pillars that caused a collapse. A lie from the pit of hell. Yet, it was not a case of substandard materials in the construction. That seem not to be the case.

Onsite witnesses tell a fact of smoke infiltrating the base of the building , a loud bang and then what seem like a “controlled demolition” .

A sabotage ?

Is a ‘Lagos Real Estate War” underway?

This is what we seek to unravel in the coming days .

The material testing on other buildings in the complex is on-going by Lagos State Government Officials to ascertain the quality of construction before moving into investigating the root cause of this “collapse”.

Who could be behind this sabotage ?

Stay tuned.