NEMA, LASEMA confirm 3 persons dead in Lagos building collapse

*The National Emergency Management Agency has confirmed the death of at three persons and rescued two others from a three-storey building that collapsed in Yaba, Lagos State

Emmanuel Akosile | ConsumerConnect

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has confirmed the death of three persons and the rescue of two others from a three-storey building that collapsed in the Saturday, February 12, 2022, in Yaba, Lagos State.

The three-storey building under construction, located on Akanbi Crescent, near the main gate of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), in Yaba, collapsed Saturday.

Mr. Ibrahim Farinloye, Acting Zonal Coordinator of NEMA, South-West, who spoke on the incident said five workers were trapped in the building, according to the News Agency of  Nigeria.

Farinloye stated: “The building was said to have shown signs on Thursday and when one of the neighbours called their attention to it, they told him off.”

The Zonal Coordinator earlier said: “Two of them have been rescued alive, but two adult males were recovered dead.

“Search and rescue operations are ongoing.”

The latest incident occurred a few months after the collapse of a 21-storey building that claimed the lives of 45 persons late last year along Gerrard Road, Ikoyi area of the state.

A section of the three-storey building, which was still under construction, collapsed on another building beside it.

An eyewitness who spoke with the media said a part of the building, in Yaba, had collapsed last year.

Meanwhile, Dr. Oluwafemi Oke-Osanyitolu, Director-General of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), said  that the agency was working to rescue more people who may be trapped in the rubble.

Idris Salako, Lagos State Honourable Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, in a statement noted that Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) had sealed off the construction site in 2021.

Nevertheless, the Commissioner stated that work resumed at the site without authorisation.said:

Salako said: “Preliminary findings indicated that the site had been sealed off twice by the Lagos State Building Control Agency in 2021 for non-compliance with building regulations, after which the site was abandoned.

“However, the developer later broke the government seal, sneaked into the site and recommenced construction without official authorisation.”

He also noted: “As of 9:00 p.m., one person had been pulled out alive, while two deaths were recorded.

“The developer in charge of the site has since been arrested and handed over to police, while rescue operation is ongoing.”

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