LAGOS SHUTS ZENITH BANK PLC, 4 OTHERS OVER ILLEGAL CONVERSION OF PROPERTIES

IKEJA, Lagos, Nigeria – Officials of the Lagos State Building Control Agency, LASBCA, on Tuesday shutdown five banks and over 80 buildings at Allen Avenue, in Ikeja, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria, over illegal conversion. The affected banks are Zenith, Access, Sterling, Unity and another commercial bank at Allen Avenue. Also shut were Tantalizers, Adebowale Electronics, Panasonic and several other buildings used for commercial purposes.

The government said the affected buildings were initially given approval for residential, only to be later converted to commercial use, for which no approval was granted. LABSCA officials, accompanied by task force officials began the sealing exercise from Allen Roundabout all through to the end of Allen on both sides of the dual carriageway around 7:45am, beginning with Tantalizers.

The exercise was led by Mr. Tayo Fakolujo, LASBCA Secretary and Mr. Kayode Daramola, a Director in the Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority, (LASPPPA). At Zenith Bank, LASBCA officials drove out the customers and bank officials before sealing the premises, while at Unity Bank, the premises was sealed before it opened for business.

General Manager, LASBCA, Engr. Lekan Shodeinde, said the affected buildings had been issued notices over one month ago to come forward to regularise their documents and get commercial approval, but that only few property owners whose buildings had been converted to commercial purposes, showed up.

He said under the Physical Planning Law, a residential property must obtain due permit before it could be converted to commercial use, stressing that it was inappropriate to convert a residential property to a commercial one. Shodeinde said LASBCA had been given the mandate to carry out audit on buildings in Lagos state, for safety purposes and ensure that people did not take laws into their hands.

He said the government had also given a six-month gace period to people who did not have permit before erecting their structures, to regularise them without paying the penalties for such violations.

The LASBCA boss lamented that owners of properties served notices on Allen Avenue did not come forward to regularise their papers, hence the need to enforce the law, for compliance purpose. According to him, government would no longer tolerate illegal conversion of residential properties to commercial ones without permit, as the law would descend heavily on those who ran foul of the law.