By Monsur Olowoopejo,

lagos—No fewer than 50 occupants and a family of two distressed buildings in Lagos Mainland Local Government area of Lagos state were yesterday evicted by the state government.

The State government also sealed over 15 buildings for been distressed and violating the Lagos State Urban and regional planning law 2010.

Vanguard gathered that the occupants had been urged by Lagos State Building Control Agency, LASBCA to vacate the buildings but they failed to yield to the warnings.

The two distressed buildings were two-storey building under construction at 34D, Abule-Nla road and another two-storey building at 2 Glover Street, Ebutte-Metta West.

Speaking to a member of the Balogun family evicted, Mrs. Julianna Balogun said that they stayed behind because they do not have funds to rent another apartment.

Julianna, a 50-year-old house wife, lamented that she and her husband, Sikiru Balogun, 70-year-old and their children would have no where to lay their head at night with the evacuation.

Sulaimon Muhammed, one of the occupants of the second buildings, narrated that the distressed building had helped him worry less on monthly rents.

On why the occupants were evicted, General Manager of LASBCA, Engr. Olushola Adeigbe said “We do not want them (occupants) to die when the building collapse.”

He lamented that the State had lost souls in the past to collapsed buildings.

His words, “The families have left the buildings but one family stayed behind. They said that they do not have funds to rent another building.

“But now that the tenant had been evicted and they are about to be relocated elsewhere, we can now ask the owner to demolish the building after sealing.

“And failure to do that, the government will embark on the demolition and reclaim our money from the owners.