Residents said occupants ignored evacuation warnings before a distressed two-storey building collapsed in Lagos, killing one and injuring 26.
Residents of Cole Street, Oyingbo, Lagos State, where a two-storey building collapsed on Sunday, killing one person and injuring 26 others, said the occupants ignored repeated government warnings to vacate the distressed structure.
PUNCH Metro gathered during a visit to the site on Monday that the building had shown visible cracks before it collapsed around 1 a.m. following a heavy downpour. Goods, including crates of beer and motorcycles, were destroyed in the incident.
Emergency responders from the Lagos State Building Control Agency, Red Cross, and Fire and Rescue Service were present for rescue operations.
A shop owner, Mrs. Adaeze, said, “The government had been giving us notice to leave the place because the building is distressed, but the owner has not been cooperating.” She added that her goods worth millions of naira were trapped under the rubble.
Another resident, Habeeb Jamiu, said the collapse occurred “immediately after the rain stopped,” adding that occupants’ cries for help woke nearby residents. “It is true that the building was in distress. You would see visible cracks,” he noted.
The Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service confirmed one death and 26 rescues. Its Controller General, Margaret Adeseye, said the structure “had reportedly been marked in distress before collapsing on the occupants.”