A trader at Egerton square in Oke-Arin area of Lagos Island, Mr Onyekwere Nnaji has said officials of the Lagos state government are responsible for the collapse of the building which left two people injured on Monday.

Nnaji, who said he has goods worth N6 million under the rubble, alleged that the Lagos state officials brought men to demolish the building out of anger over his failure to part with N100,000 bribe they requested from him to grant him more time to move out his goods from the building.

He said “I have my goods in two of the building marked for demolition on Saturday and they ordered that we should move out our goods before Monday, by Sunday I had moved my goods from the first building they said they will start demolishing on Monday, they approached me and asked for a bribe of N100,000 to give me more time to move out my goods from the second building.

“I offered to pay N30,000 but they disagreed, when they came today and saw me moving out my goods from the second building, they abandoned the other one they were working on and came to the building where my goods are kept. Out of anger, they ordered the Hausa men to start breaking the pillars from the ground floor. It was while they were doing this that the building collapse on the men.”

Micheal Orodare