By Huldah Shado
The Lagos State Government has sealed off Purple Mall in Lekki following the tragic death of a 28-year-old man, Obinna, who fell from the mall’s multi-level parking structure.
According to the victim’s grieving mother, Kylie, Obinna; her only child had gone to the gym at the mall that day and was instructed to park on the 5th floor.
She alleged that the parking area lacked clear safety signs or directional markings.
“There were no signs to indicate entrance or exit. My son drove in slowly, as anyone would in a multi-level car park, looking for a space.
“The CCTV footage showed him tipping over the edge on the 5th floor. After that, there was nothing,” she said.
She also lamented that it took mall officials 35 minutes to extract him from the car and take him to the hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival.
The bereaved mother dismissed the mall’s claim that her son refused valet parking, stating that a friend who was driving behind Obinna confirmed they were asked to self-park by the mall’s security.
In response to the incident, the Lagos State Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, on Wednesday, July 2, shut down the mall indefinitely pending investigation.
Commissioner Tokunbo Wahab, in a statement, announced that a specialized team has been set up to determine the root cause of the parking structure failure.
