Lagos Begins Rebuilding Igbosere, Nigeria’s Oldest High Court

The Lagos State Rebuilding Trust Fund yesterday begun reconstructing the Igbosere High Court, that was burnt down by hijackers of the #EndSARS protest on October 21, 2020.

Two excavators were seen demolishing the remains of the court, said to be Nigeria’s oldest and most recognisable judicial building.

During the protest, hoodlums made their way onto the premises, carting away computers, printers, files, fans, air conditioners and other items.

They then set the building ablaze before fleeing.

The hoodlums also destroyed the nearby Igbosere Magistrates’ Court, the world-class Forensic DNA Centre (West Africa’s first), police stations, and other public and private infrastructure across Lagos.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on November 4, 2020, signed an Executive Order to establish an eight-man Lagos State Rebuilding Trust Fund, headed by Mr. Yemi Cardoso to rebuild the razed edifice.

The chairman of the Lagos State Rebuilding Trust Fund, Yemi Cardoso, explained last September that the Fund started off as a governmenttbing, but is now a public-private partnership.

“It is now a Public-Private Partnership (PPP), which has its own status and laws for procurement policies and others. The governance and the legality of it will obviously face its own time. If it is a committee of government, it would have started work immediately but in this case, you have to ensure that it goes through CAC and other necessary procedure,” Cardoso said.

Other members of the rebuilding committee are the Managing Partner, Olaniwun Ajayi LP, Konyinsola Ajayi; Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Bank, Abubakar Suleiman; Co-Founder and CEO, Flutterwave, Gbenga Agboola; Vice
Chairman, Standard Chartered Bank, Bola Adesola – all representing the private sector – and a representative of an International Donor Agency.

The Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Sam Egube, and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Works and Infrastructure, Jimi Hotonou, are members of the board representing the public sector