LAGOS —  The delay in prosecuting owners and developers of collapsed buildings in Lagos State was,  yesterday, blamed on the police, the State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Adeola Ipaye, has said.

Briefing newsmen in Ikeja, Ipaye said the state  was worried about the spate of collapsed buildings across the state, but that its effort at prosecuting offenders had been frustrated.

The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, reports that a five-storey shopping complex  collapsed on November 4 at No. 9, Muri Okunola St., Eti-Osa Local Government Area.

Three persons were reportedly killed, while 12 others were injured in the incident.

Ipaye said: “It is the duty of the police to arrest and investigate such incidents. In the ones that have happened in the past, we have taken action by writing to the police to send us the case files.

“The problem we have is that we do not have control over that process because the police force is a Federal Government agency.

“Until we get the reports of the investigations from them, we cannot take the people to court.”

The Attorney General threatened that such buildings would henceforth be forfeited to the government by their owners if culpable negligence was established.

According to him, the forfeiture was backed by Section 74 of the Lagos State Urban and Regional Planning and Development Law of 2010.

Ipaye urged residents to comply with the provisions of relevant legislations in the building industry and to engage professionals in developing their property.

He added that the State Building Control Agency had been empowered to remove illegal structures and demolish distressed buildings to avert disasters.

On the sale of fireworks during the forthcoming yuletide, he warned importers of fireworks to obtain the necessary permits and licences or be sanctioned.

Ipaye said defaulters would be prosecuted under the Explosives Act and the Lagos State Criminal Law 2011.