Abesan Housing Estate Residents Fear Wider Demolitions as Lagos Enforces Building Safety

Landlords and tenants at Abesan Housing Estate in Lagos are still coming to terms with the demolition of Block 341 by the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), an exercise the agency said was carried out over critical structural defects. Residents told Saturday Tribune that the July 12 demolition has left a pile of rubble and a lingering fear that other buildings could meet the same fate as the agency subjects structures in the estate to integrity tests.

Pastor Kehinde Ogundimu, President-General of the United Medium and Low-Cost Housing Estate Residents' Association in Lagos State, confirmed the anxiety, saying the incident continues to generate widespread apprehension. "Residents won't be happy. There is that fear everywhere that what happened to one person could happen to another," he said, adding that the association had set up a compliance and monitoring team to inspect buildings and encourage residents to fix structural and maintenance problems before they attract enforcement.

The financial burden is a central worry. Engineer Tunde Showole, who heads the Abesan Residents' Estate Association Building Compliance and Enforcement Team, said a building next to the demolished structure was later flagged by LASBCA as dilapidated, and its occupants were served notice to conduct an integrity test estimated at about N450,000. "For the people living in the low-cost Abesan Housing Estate, this is financially burdensome," Showole said, noting that many landlords are retired civil servants who depend on rent.

Residents also complained of confusion over overlapping enforcement. Showole said officials of LASBCA and another state agency had both marked buildings in the estate, leaving residents unsure which body is responsible for particular aspects of compliance. Ogundimu called for regular stakeholders' meetings between residents, estate associations and government agencies to focus on maintenance, safety standards and early intervention.

The demolition has renewed a broader debate about Lagos' ageing housing stock. Ogundimu warned that every block pulled down removes homes from an already stretched market and worsens the housing deficit, and he urged greater investment in public housing and expansion into areas such as Badagry and Ikorodu, with roads, schools and healthcare. Chartered quantity surveyor Taiwo Adeniyi Bolaji put Nigeria's housing deficit at about 28 million units and questioned the affordability of mortgage financing for low-income earners.

Abesan was conceived as part of efforts to house ordinary Lagos residents, but residents say construction costs, rent and living expenses have long outpaced the low-cost model. Ogundimu argued that responsibility must be shared, with residents complying with regulations and government providing clear guidance and timely intervention. "Money shouldn't be the priority," he said. "The welfare and safety of the people should be the priority of the state government."