Richard Nyong, Chief Executive Officer of Lekki Gardens Estate Limited, and his company has been accused of negligence following the death of a worker at its construction site within the estate.
Popular commercial lawyer and chairperson of Osborne Foreshore Residents Association (OSFRA), Lagos, Mrs. Chinwe Ezenwa-Mbah, who made the accusations said it was not the first time such a tragedy would be occurring in their buildings.
According to The Punch, a construction worker, Steven Magilo, reportedly died after falling off the eighth floor of a building under construction owned by Lekki Gardens.
It was learnt that the incident happened recently at the Royal Palm Drive, Osborne Foreshore Estate Phase 2, Ikoyi, Lagos State. The 30-year-old was confirmed dead in a hospital in the community, as the matter was reported at the Dolphin Police Station.
Said Ezenwa-Mbah: “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 would 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.”
The senior lawyer 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 in 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.”
The spokesman for Lekki Gardens, Emmanuel Essien, however denied the allegations against the firm. He noted that the deceased was not a member of staff of the company but was engaged by one of its contractors.
Nyong and his company are not new to controversies.