The owner of Fourscore Homes, the real estate company in charge of the 21-storey building that collapsed in Lagos, Femi Osibona, has been reportedly found dead.
Mr Osibona was said to be on the premises when the building on Gerrard road, Ikoyi, collapsed on Monday.
An official of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), confirmed the development to TheCable on Thursday.
Mr Osibona’s death pushes the total number of deaths recorded in the tragic incident close to 40.
A friend of Mr Osibona, a United States of America-based Nigerian businessman, Wale Bob-Oseni, has also been reportedly discovered inside the rubble, lifeless.
The families of both men are yet to confirm their deaths.
Said to be ‘missing’
On Monday, a NEMA spokesperson, Ibrahim Farinloye, told Channels Television that Mr Osibona and his friend “were said to be missing”.
However, he did not confirm whether the duo were trapped inside the building.
The silence from both men since then has solidified speculations that they were indeed part of the casualties of the tragic incident.
On Wednesday, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu said Osibona may have been on the site at the time of the incident.
“As for the owner or the developer, it’s been said that he was also on site. That’s the information we have gathered,” the Governor said.
“I do not know if his body or corpse has been recovered but it’s been said that he is on site.
“It’s also been alleged that the contractor is also the builder. But I cannot confirm that, and these are things that the panel will indeed investigate and confirm”.
The State Government has inaugurated a panel to probe the cause of the building collapse.
‘Good night’
On Thursday, celebrity publisher and politician Dele Momodu appeared to confirm Osibona’s death.
He posted a ‘goodbye’ message on his verified Twitter page with an attached picture of the developer.
“Good night my very dear friend and Brother FEMI FOURSCORE OSIBONA . . . RIP,” Mr Momodu, a former presidential candidate, said.
