An official of the Lagos State Building Control Authority (LASBCA) on Friday told an Ikeja Coroner’s Court that the late real estate developer Femi Osibona, his wife and staff were arrested in 2020 for allegedly contravening some state building laws.
Mr Osibona, who was the managing director of Fourscore Heights Ltd, and over 40 others died when a 21-storey building he was constructing in Ikoyi collapsed on November 1, 2021.
The witness said Osibona was arrested on June 10, 2020.
“He was arrested alongside his wife and staff for contravening certification and planning laws.
“They were arrested by a joint enforcement team of LASCA and LASPPPA. The security men at the gate put up an attitude by resisting the team’s access to the property. He was found to be in contravention of the law,” she said.
While being cross-examined by Ola Adeosun, counsel to Prowess Engineering Nigeria Ltd., the structural engineering consultant to Mr Osibona who withdrew its services over a dispute on how the project was structurally executed, Randle said Osibona severally refused LASBCA officers from gaining access to the construction site of the building.
According to her, sometime in June 2019, LASBCA received a notification from Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority (LASPPPA) over a permit given to Osibona’s firm for three blocks of 15 floors.
She said she did not know if it was possible for an individual to forge a LASBCA approval document.
