Govt warns against building under powerline

The Lagos State Building Control Agency has warned residents against erecting structures or trading under high-tension power lines in any part of the state.

A Thursday statement said the warning was issued by the General Manager of the agency, Gbolahan Oki, at a meeting with the Bale of Ladigboye Community and representatives of Arewa Communities in Ikorodu.

The residents, according to the statement, were on a visit to the chairman’s office to seek approval to trade on a portion of land granted by the Bale of Ladigboye Community in the Ikorodu area of Lagos, which falls under a high-tension power line.

Oki urges Lagosians to be wary of the electromagnetic radiation that power installation, which poses a threat to the lives of the occupants and that of others.

He said, “The state Urban and Regional Planning and Development Law does not only prohibit building under overhead electricity wires but also specifies the distance that should be observed between a property and a public utility such as the high-tension electricity cables.

“Safety and protection of lives are the most important issues here, and we must not let urbanisation or material gains take the better part of us and allow the illegality to continue. Please ensure your buildings are not under high-tension wires and desist from doing business in unauthorised places like under the powerlines or on drainage alignments.”

Last month, two women were killed in the FESTAC area of Lagos when lightning that characterised a downpour led to their electrocution.

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, disclosed this in a post on X.com.

He stated that the victims were living in a shanty built under the high-voltage wires which caught fire as a result of the lightning.

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