In a concerning incident, a building with over 500 rooms collapsed in the Ketu area of Lagos State. As a result, at least two individuals are currently receiving medical treatment at a private hospital due to injuries sustained during the incident.
The building, which had previously served as a school and was later converted into a residential complex, initially partially collapsed on a Saturday afternoon following heavy rainfall in the area. On the following Sunday afternoon, it crumbled further, causing additional damage to a neighboring structure before collapsing entirely.
This event caused widespread panic among residents, leading hundreds of families and individuals residing in the building to evacuate the premises.
Officials from the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency were quick to respond, cordoning off the affected premises. Furthermore, the compound, which contains multiple deteriorating buildings, had already been marked for demolition by the Lagos State Government due to its unsafe conditions.
This tragic incident comes after a previous report in December 2014 by Saturday PUNCH, highlighting the poor living conditions of tenants in the Agboye Estate. At that time, the Lagos State Government had partially sealed the building but later lifted the sanction.
Building collapses have been a recurring issue in Nigeria, with a total of 553 recorded between 1974 and April 13, 2023. Lagos State has been particularly affected, with over 326 collapses in the last 49 years, representing 59.05% of all recorded cases in the country during this period.
Efforts to reach officials for comments and further information regarding this incident were unsuccessful as of the time of reporting.