The Lagos State Government has announced the formation of a committee to oversee the identification and release of bodies found from the 21-story building that collapsed on Gerrard Road in the state’s Ikoyi neighborhood.
The 21-story structure collapsed at 2 p.m. on Monday.
Over 50 people were trapped in the skyscraper owned by Fourscore Heights Limited, including the firm’s Managing Director, Femi Osibona; his friend, a Nigerian businessman resident in the United States of America, Wale Bob-Oseni; his personal assistant, Oyinye Enekwe; and clients.
Other deceased persons included a member of the National Youth Service Corps, identified only as Oyindamola; an aluminium fabricator, Kenneth Otu; an engineer and pastor with the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Living Water Parish, Ibafo, Ogun State, Ola Ogunfunwa, among others.
Since the incident happened, family members of victims and sympathisers had thronged the area daily, hoping to see their loved ones alive, while some lamented that they were not allowed to identify their loved ones.
The affected families were, however, granted access on Saturday to find their loved ones among the corpses recovered and deposited in the Lagos Mainland Hospital morgue.
The state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotosho, in a statement on Tuesday, said 29 families have submitted samples for DNA to identify the body of their loved ones.
The statement read, “The identification of bodies of the victims of the Ikoyi building collapse has continued at the IDH, Yaba, Lagos Mainland. Twenty-nine families have come forward to submit samples for DNA to identify bodies that they wish to claim. In cases where identification is clear and there are no arguments, the bodies will be released to the families from this week.
“A committee to supervise the identification and release of the bodies has been set up. It comprises senior officials of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Justice. At the site, the operation continues. It will go on until the site is cleared and nobody is left in the rubble of the collapsed 21-story edifice.
“The panel of inquiry set up by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to find out why the building went down and suggest ways of stopping such incidents has continued its sittings. It is collecting documents that may help unravel the mystery of the collapsed building.”
Ada Peter
