On Wednesday, the Lagos State Government initiated the demolition of illegal buildings located in the Banana Island area of the state.

This action was taken as part of the government's efforts to address the issue of frequent building collapses in the state.

The exercise was carried out by officials from the Lagos State Building Control Agency, the Lagos State Environmental and Special Offences Unit, and the Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority.

The team was led by the General Manager of LASBCA, Gbolahan Oki, and the Task Force Chairman, CSP Shola Jejeloye, as well as other agency leaders.

According to a statement from the state Ministry of Information, the affected buildings violated the Lagos State Urban and Regional Planning Development Law (2019) and were identified and removed/demolished in line with the agency's statutory responsibilities.

The move was also in response to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu's directive after he visited the site of a collapsed seven-storey building on Banana Island. The governor had noted that the site of the collapsed building was not originally part of the Island's plan.

The building collapse, which occurred on April 12, resulted in the rescue of seven people from the rubble. However, one adult male victim was found in the rubble almost 48 hours after the incident. The state Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development confirmed that no approval was given for the construction of the collapsed structure.

On April 22, while leading a delegation to assess the incident, Governor Sanwo-Olu ordered the demolition of over 20 buildings without valid building approvals, particularly those that violated building regulations and plans of the state. The governor also expressed displeasure at the issuance of a permit to sand fill the Lagos Lagoon without regard for the area's topography and the approvals given to developers by the federal government with the collusion of some corrupt officials of the Lagos State government.