Beware, that abandoned building may be a house of terror
In February, Lagos residents were treated to the sad news of a popular tailor murdered in an uncompleted building.
According to media reports, the 38-year-old tailor, a resident of Oke-Abiaye, in the Alagbado area of Lagos State, who was later identified as Oluwasegun Adegbenjo, was believed to have been murdered by gunmen in an uncompleted building which had been abandoned for quite some time.
About a week before this rather sad incident, residents of Ile-Iwe community in the Meiran area of Lagos State woke up to the sight of a dangling body of a man whose identity could not be ascertained also in an uncompleted building in the area.
No resident of the city of Ibadan, Oyo State, will forget the Soka saga in a hurry. It will be recalled that a year ago, the relatively peaceful, serene Ibadan was literally brought down on its knees when a den of rituals was uncovered at Idi Mangoro area of Soka. The den was primarily made up of an abandoned piece of uncompleted building which had been overgrown by bush that had apparently shielded the building from passersby.
Saturday Tribune also recalls that a few years back, improvised explosive devices, bombs and guns were uncovered by security operatives in an abandoned Lagos building belonging to one of the states from the South-South region of the country.
Saturday Tribune’s decision to once again call the attention of appropriate quarters to the need to reduce the number of such buildings, which are believed in some quarters to pose a significant degree of risks to any neighbourhood, was borne out of growing security concerns not just in Lagos State, but also in every part of the country, especially as the general elections draw closer.
Strangely, however is the fact that numerous uncompleted or abandoned buildings, some of which are said to be on the verge of collapse, in Lagos and in other towns and cities in the country, are not only owned by individuals, quite a number of them are said to belong to the federal, state and local governments, as well as corporate entities.
No one ever wishes to start the construction of a building without having the ability to complete it. It is therefore never the intention or the dream of any builder to have his property turned into a refuse dumpsite or a rendezvous for crime-minded individuals, simply because such a property cannot be completed on time. However, this unenviable status seems to be the lot of quite a number of uncompleted properties in Lagos State and its environs, as evident in the number of buildings that have become hideouts for touts, street urchins, Indian hemp smokers, and persons with general tendency for crime.
Recently, Saturday Tribune got wind of a number of buildings that belong to this category, including no fewer than five in Ikorodu, one in Oshodi, three in Abule-Egba and four in various parts of CMS on Lagos Island. Those buildings, according to investigation, are known to be frequently occupied by persons of questionable character.
In the meantime, Saturday Tribune’s attention was called to Ibafo in Ogun State, where an abandoned building that has reportedly become a haven of rugged looking individuals who often ‘congregate’ at the buildings, especially in the evenings, to smoke Indian hemp.
Based on investigations, the abandoned property, which is a very big house, was originally meant to serve as a manufacturing industry, but over time, it has become a hideout for young men and women who not only engage in the act of smoking marijuana, but who have also become a source of terror to residents of the community that plays host to the piece of property.
Many residents of the community, perhaps out of fear of the occupiersof the abandoned building, refused to speak with Saturday Tribune, but a resident who eventually decided to talk did so under a condition of anonymity. His argument was that occupiers of the abandoned building had informants among them.
“I understand that the building, which is so big and could be mistaken for an abandoned estate, was meant to be a manufacturing company. For years, however, it has been abandoned and has, therefore, turned into its current state.
“It has become an abode for Indian hemp smokers as well as the destitute. No one dares to go inside at any time. Therefore, I will suggest that you think twice before you attempt to go in if you are actually considering doing so,” this was the piece of advice that was offered Saturday Tribune by the unnamed resident.
The resident, who claimed to have been living at Ibafo for over five years, also added that “this abandoned property, needless to say, constitutes a security risk to the entire neighbourhood. The property owner is therefore urged to do something about it; otherwise it should be taken over by appropriate authorities.”
But the Lagos State government shows its determination to rid the state of such vices, with an occasional and calculated clamping down on the occupants of such buildings.
The governor of the state, Mr Babatunde Fashola, is known to have, on a number of occasions, called the attention of the Federal Government to the need to find a solution to the high number of FG-owned abandoned buildings in the state. Many of such buildings, according to the governor, have become the abode of criminals.
It will be recalled that a couple of years ago, the Lagos State Task Force on Environment and Special Offences (Enforcement) Unit arrested 86 suspected illegal squatters, food vendors and aliens in Ikoyi area of the state for allegedly not having definite residential addresses or means of livelihood.
According to information, the arrest was in response to complaints by residents of the area about the presence of illegal squatters in uncompleted buildings and makeshift shops.
Reports made available by security agencies had suggested that the squatters were classified as security risk.
Those arrested were also found in abandoned houses, shops and they also included food vendors and aliens. They were suspected to be part of criminal gangs that had been terrorising Ikoyi residents for quite some time.
In the meantime, in a bid to rid the state of criminals, the Lagos State government has continuously urged residents in the state to be more security conscious and report criminal activities in abandoned and uncompleted buildings in their neighbourhood to the appropriate authorities.
The Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mr. Toyin Ayinde, recently said that abandoned buildings often served as the haven for miscreants, armed robbers and other mischievous people.
He insisted that such observations and reports would help the government to reduce crime to the barest minimum, and that it would also expose distressed buildings as well as those that contravened building plans in the state.
“The buildings, apart from serving as hideouts for miscreants, also posed threat to lives and property in view of their dilapidated condition.
“Government is mindful of the dangers involved in building collapses, especially in cases when they lead to loss of lives and property and would therefore take preemptive measures to avoid such situations.
“Once the government is aware of the existence of such buildings, it would make the necessary investigations. Those that have been abandoned for up to five years could be demolished,” Mr Ayinde remarked.
