Two persons have been confirmed dead and 15 others rescued after a three-storey building collapsed on Saturday in the Ojodu-Berger area of Lagos.
The building, which reportedly housed the popular Equal Right Restaurant, came crashing down around 8 a.m., catching residents and passersby unawares.
It was said to be undergoing construction work at the time of the collapse.
Emergency response teams from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), and other agencies were deployed to the scene following a distress call received by NEMA at 8:32 a.m.
NEMA initially confirmed that, “Twelve victims have been rescued so far, with one adult confirmed dead.”
However, that figure later rose to two dead and 15 rescued so far, including restaurant staff, customers, and an entire family who were inside the building when it gave way.
The cause of the collapse remains undetermined, but residents say they had long raised concerns about the structural integrity of the building.
“That building was a ticking time bomb,” one resident who spoke anonymously told Punch. “I barely went there to buy food because I was always afraid it would come down one day.”
LASEMA has attributed the incident to unapproved structural modifications.
“It was an old building converted into an eatery. Additional construction had been carried out on it before the structure finally collapsed,” said LASEMA’s Permanent Secretary, Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu.
He said five adult women were among those rescued and treated at the scene.
“We are proceeding methodically, using both heavy and light-duty equipment to get to ground zero,” Mr Oke-Osanyintolu said. “We have credible information that more people may still be under the rubble, so our search is ongoing, layer by layer.”
By Saturday evening, a joint rescue operation involving NEMA, LASEMA, the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, the Nigeria Police, and other agencies was still underway.
NEMA and LASEMA have since cordoned off the site and launched a formal investigation.
“This is a serious warning against tampering with ageing structures,” Mr Oke-Osanyintolu warned, urging property owners to seek proper approvals before making alterations to existing buildings.
Saturday’s collapse is the second in Lagos within a few weeks.
A building under construction at Northern Vulture Estate on Chevron Drive, Lekki, collapsed, claiming the lives of a teenage boy and two men.
LASEMA said six others were seriously injured in that incident.
“A young boy, about 15 years old, and two adult males were recovered, confirmed dead, and subsequently bagged by emergency responders,” said Mr Oke-Osanyintolu.
The Lekki structure was later demolished after a full-scale search and rescue operation.
Investigations into the causes of both collapses are ongoing.
‘I almost ate there’, man recounts narrow escape
A Lagos resident has explained how he avoided being trapped in a two-storey building that collapsed on Oremeta Street in the Ojodu Berger area of Lagos State.
The building, which housed a local restaurant, was reported to have collapsed at approximately 8 am on Saturday.
It was gathered that the incident occurred minutes after some of the workers arrived.
Although the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency said five people had been rescued as of the time of filing the report, residents in the area feared that many others could be trapped under the rubble.
However, the resident, who identified himself as Chike, told our correspondent that he was lucky to have escaped after he shelved his plan to have breakfast at the restaurant.
“I live in Ojodu; this (the restaurant) is the place I usually go to eat. Last night, I wanted to go there to eat, but I didn’t feel comfortable about going, so I decided to buy some things to cook at home.
“That (cooking at home) also made me not go to the restaurant this morning. This morning, I was preparing to go to Berger to pick something when I heard that something happened at EqualRight, and by the time I got there, I realised that a lot of people had been injured,” he said.
Chike also expressed concern that many people could be trapped underneath the building, as the restaurant was popular in the area.
“In a day, they get up to 100 customers. Sometimes, when a football match is on, you can find up to 70 people gathered there. We feel bad about this incident.
“As I speak with you, some people are in the building. We have yet to confirm whether they are alive, but we pray they are alive, by the Grace of God.
“The building was old, but I don’t know whether they were trying to build another structure there,” he added.
Emergency responders struggled to control the crowd of onlookers.
Some angry youths refused to vacate the scene, against the instruction of some police officers on the ground, as two bulldozers struggled to make their way into the premises.
Efforts to reach the Lagos State Police Command were unsuccessful, as the Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, could not be reached for comments.
