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‘Safety Act violators will be prosecuted’

By Godwin Dunia
22 November 2016   |   2:17 am
The Director-General, Lagos State Safety Commission (LSSC), Hon. Akeem Dickson, stated this at a media parley on “instituting appropriate safety events and entertainment industry” held at...
 The Director-General, Lagos State Safety Commission (LSSC), Hon. Akeem Dickson

<br />The Director-General, Lagos State Safety Commission (LSSC), Hon. Akeem Dickson

The Lagos State government said it will no longer spare proprietors of event and other social centres that failed to put in place safety equipments and conform with safety requirements, as they would henceforth face criminal charges in the law courts.

According to the government, any event centre, event planners, night clubs or bars that refused to comply after three visits and warnings, would face the full wrath of the law as stipulated in Lagos State Safety Commission (LSSC) Act, Laws of the Lagos State 2011.

The Director-General, Lagos State Safety Commission (LSSC), Hon. Akeem Dickson, stated this at a media parley on “instituting appropriate safety events and entertainment industry” held at the conference room of Ministry of Youth and Development, Alausa, Ikeja.

Dickson said LSSC consultants have been mandated to carry out an audit of event and other social centres in the state to intimate and educate them of the new requirements.

He said only event centres that met the conditions stipulated under the law would henceforth be issued with certificate to operate while those that failed would be shut down until they comply.

He said government decided to enforce the law on safety requirements because it is interested in saving lives of the people of Lagos.

“Event organizers, planners, whether individual or group, will be held responsible for not taking steps to protect the health, safety and welfare of everyone working at or attending the event.

“ It is of fundamental importance that safety management should start at the same time as planning for all the other aspects of proposed event. It is therefore imperative that promoters, production companies, event organizers and contractors are clear as to the legal responsibilities that each may have in relation to compliance with safety regulations”, he said.

The media parley had in attendance Secretary to the LSC, Ms Tola Sanusi, Director, Research and Development, Mrs Aderonke Adeneye, Event Safety Consultant, Dr. Wale Adeboje and representatives from the entertainment industry.

Dr. Adeboje said the new initiative was to provide checks and due diligence that would reduce avoidable accidents at event centres, adding that it would also boost events and entertainment industry with the interest of international community and direct foreign investment.

He said it would in addition provide event organizers with a guide on the safety manage tools required for every particular event and equip them with engineering solutions to manage attending crowds.

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