A construction worker, Steven Magilo, has died after falling off the eighth floor of a building under construction.
The incident happened at the Royal Palm Drive, Osborne Foreshore Estate Phase 2, Ikoyi, Lagos State at a building owned by Lekki Gardens, a property company in Lagos.
The late worker was reportedly rushed to a nearby hospital where he was confirmed dead.
The incident is raising dust as the Chairperson of the estate, Chinwe Ezenwa-Mba, accused Lekki Gardens of negligence. She noted that it was not the first time such a tragedy would happen in their buildings.
She said, “Lekki Gardens is the owner of the property from which the young man fell and died. This is the third time in a space of months that workers will be falling off their buildings and plunging to their death. They have no regards for human lives.
“Reports to relevant authorities concerning their atrocities fall on deaf ears; immediately you mention Lekki Gardens, it’s like a no-go area to the authorities of Lagos State.”
Chinwe said the Lagos State Safety Commission initially sealed off the building after the estate reported Magilo’s death, adding that in less than a week, it was reopened.
The Estate Manager, Olushola Odukoya, faulted the decision of the state safety commission to reopen the building.
He said, “The company’s safety officers told me that the victim was doing overload by trying to get things from a crane when he fell off and died. But to us on the estate, we know that enough safety measures were not taken.
“In the last seven months, this is the third occurrence, which they acknowledged and wrote to us. But this last death, they didn’t want us to know, so they quickly removed the body because they knew we would not take it lightly with them.
“We always try to monitor their constructions to see that they are in accordance with the approval they got and the safety measures the estate wants in place. However, because of the peculiarity of Lekki Gardens, they feel they own the state and try to fence us off and do whatever they like, and that’s why we call on the authorities to come in and do the needful.”
