NCRIB blames builders’ negligence for Banana Island building collapse

The Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers, on Thursday, expressed regret over the collapse of a seven-storey building at Banana Island in Lagos State.

The seven-storey building, under construction at Banana Island, Ikoyi, collapsed on Wednesday around 5:00 p.m. while concreting was ongoing on the sixth floor.

The National Emergency Management Agency, in a statement, said no death was recorded but workers were trapped in the building and a response team had been mobilised to search for those trapped in the building.

The President of NCRIB, Mr Rotimi Edu, also in a statement made available in Lagos, described the incident as a case of negligence by the building experts who undertook the construction.

“Though no casualty was reported, the collapse brings to questioning the continuous recalcitrance of building contractors to adhere to extant regulatory prescriptions concerning public buildings in the country,” Edu said.

According to him, the sensitivity of public buildings necessitates the need for builders and owners to imbibe insurance policies.

He listed such policies as the Public Liability, Contractors All Risk and other prescriptions of Sections 64 & 65 of the Insurance Act, with regard to public buildings.

The NCRIB president said if these insurance policies have been in place, the risk of total loss incurred by the owners of the collapsed buildings would have been greatly reduced.

Edu called on the Lagos State Government to expedite the investigation into the cause of the building collapse.

He also advised the state government to urgently apprise the public of the result of the findings and actions to be taken, to avert future building infractions in the state.

It would be recalled that a similar incident of collapse of a high-rise block of flats, under construction at Ikoyi in Lagos, occurred in November 2021.

The incident which recorded the loss of lives attracted public condemnation.  

NAN