JUST IN: 29 Families Submits DNAs For Ikoyi High-Rise Victims’ Identification

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As rescue team intensified the search for more bodies possibly trapped under the Ikoyi high-rise rubbles, at least 29 families have submitted their Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) samples to the Lagos State Government, basically to aid identification and collection of their loved one’s corpse for burial.

To aid collections of bodies for the families, the State Government has inaugurated a committee to supervise the identification and release of the bodies to the victims’ families.

The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, who disclosed these on Tuesday, said that the committee was set up to prevent any argument that may possibly arise during collection of the 43 already recovered bodies by the families.

Omotoso, through a statement released to newsmen and titled Update on Gerrard Road Building Collapse, stated that the committee comprises senior officials of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Justice.

Away from the collection exercise, he noted that that the rescue team has been mandated not to stop the rescue operations until the site is cleared and nobody is left in the rubble of the collapsed 21-storey edifice.

The statement reads in part: “The Panel of Inquiry set up by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to find out why the building went down and suggest ways of stopping such incidents has continued its sittings. It is collecting documents that may help unravel the mystery of the collapsed building”.