A one-storey building collapsed in the Ikeja area of Lagos State on Thursday at No. 12 Aromire Street, Ikeja, killing one person.
An eyewitness, Amos Akintunde, said the victim, a welder, was alone in the building when the incident happened.
He said, “When the middle floor fell on him, no one noticed on time because people were not around. It was his colleague who was on the premises that raised the alarm before people started to pull up the rubble.”
The Permanent Secretary in the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Dr. Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, who confirmed the incident in a statement, said the building, formerly occupied by Kilms Mart, was being worked on by labourers when it partially collapsed killing one person.
He blamed the accident on construction work carried out on the site by unskilled workers.
The statement read: “The Agency swiftly responded to the emergency call immediately it was escalated and activated its emergency response plan by deploying its responders to take full control of the situation.
“Unfortunately, an adult male reported to be a welder lost his life instantly at the scene. His remains were recovered and removed from the scene.
“The post-disaster assessment conducted by the Agency’s Team indicates that the building does not pose any threat to adjoining buildings. The building was cordoned off and Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) and Nigeria Police were contacted for further action.”
An official of the Lagos State Building Control Agency, who did not want to be identified because he was not authorised to speak on the incident, said the work being carried out on the building was illegal.
“We have brought the building down to ground zero,” he added.
The Director of Public Affairs, Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mukaila Sanusi, said there was no approval for the building work.
He said, “It is a case of illegal demolition being carried out by people working on the site. The building did not just collapse; it happened because they were doing unapproved removal. If you go there, you’ll see that it has been brought to ground zero.”
