Collapsed Building : Court remands lekki gardens MD
Taiwo Owoeye
An Ebute Metta Magistrate Court has granted the request of Lagos State Police Command seeking to keep the Managing Director of Lekki Gardens MD,Richard Nyon, 34, in custody pending the conclusion of the investigation into the collapsed five storey building,that killed 35 persons in Kushenla Road,Ikate Elegushi area of the State.
Delivering the judgement,Magistrate Folasade Botoku,also ordered one of the contractors handling the project,Odofin Taiwo Henry to be kept in police custody at panti alongside Nyong for the next 30days.
“Magistrate Folashade Botoku,who granted the remand order,said that was in the interest of justice and public safety”.
“The building crumbled around 3am on Tuesday with several workers trapped in the rubble”.
“The State government had sealed the building,which was originally designed to be a three-storey structure but in a brazen act of defiance and impunity,the owners of the building,Messrs Lekki Worldwide Gardens,were said to have criminally unsealed the property and continued building beyond the approved floors until the unfortunate incident.
Nyong and Odofin were brought to court at about 1pm in a black Range Rover Sports Utility vehicle with registration number (Abuja) KWL682CN.
“When the case was called,police prosecutor,Godwin Osuji informed Magistrate Botoku of an ex-parte application seeking to remand the defendants beyond the constitutionally prescribed period,saying the application was brought in the interest of justice,public safety,public order and morality.He said it was impossible for the police to conclude investigation within two days,hence the need for the application.
Osuji added that some relatives of the victims were still making efforts to identify their dead bodies while autopsy is yet to be conducted.
He said: “In view of the circumstances of this matter,it will be impracticable for us to conclude investigation in two days as there are so many agencies involved”.
“He,therefore,urged the court to grant the request to keep the defendants in custody of the Police Criminal Investigation Department pending conclusion of investigation”.
Responding,counsel to the defendants,Bode Olanipekun,orally applied for the bail of his clients,saying they will always make themselves available to police when needed.
However, Osuji,in response said it was trite law that an application for bail could only be filed after the defendants must have been arraigned on a criminal charge,that the police was yet to file any charge against the defendants and as such the application for bail was not yet ripe.
In his ruling,Magistrate Botoku ruled that under section 264(1)of the Lagos State Administration of Criminal Justice Act,2011,she was empowered to order the remand of a defendant as in the instant case,but that the major consideration is the justification of such application. She ordered the defendants to be kept at the criminal investigation department panti for 30days,the matter was adjourned to April 12.