7 die, 14 injured in Lagos building collapse
BY EVELYN USMAN, BOSE ADELAJA,
MONSURU OLOWOOPEJO & UJU MBANUSI- terseer adamu ( Review)
LAGOS — A three-storey building at 29, Oloto Street, Ebutte Metta, Yaba Local
Council Development Area, LCDA, Lagos, yesterday collapsed killing no fewer
than seven persons with 14 others injured.
A one-year-old baby, a couple,
identified as Bukky and Lanre, and a pregnant woman, a nursing mother, Iya
AbdulBarki and her son were all pulled out of the debris dead.
Also, an 80-year-old Alhaji Ganiu
Salami lost his life and has since been buried according to Islamic rites,
while his daughter-in-law sustained injury.
An occupant of the collapsed three
storey building at 29,Oloto str, Herbert Maculay way, Ebute Meta, Lagos Nigeria
.Photo by Joe Akintola (photo editor)Tosin Aladesokun, Bunmi Azeez
Vanguard gathered that the 14 persons who sustained injuries when the
building caved in at about 2:00 am, have all been admitted at the General
Hospital, Lagos Island.
It was also learnt that the owner of
the building identified as Alhaji Dimeji, who also owns two other
distressed buildings is on the run.
Mr. Ufuoma Ekpere, a resident who
alerted other residents about the imminent collapse said: “I came back from
work at about 11:00 pm. But on getting home, my wife was asleep. So I had to go
to the kitchen myself to prepare what I wanted to eat. On getting to the
kitchen, I discovered that some rubbles from the building had fallen off. But I
didn’t take it serious. So I went to bed.
“At about 2:05 am, I woke up and
discovered the entire building was cracking. While trying to alert the
landlord, I discovered that the crack was getting wider. Then, I alerted other
tenants and rescued my family. Immediately we came out, the building caved in.”
Community rescue team
Mr. Hakeen Adeyemi, a resident who
also helped in the rescue operation, said: “A large per cent of the recovered
bodies were women.
“The baby was recovered in the
company of his two siblings who, however, survived and have been admitted in
the general hospital. Those rescued were rushed to the hospital while some died
before help could come their way.”
Another resident involved in the
rescue operation, Mr. Sikiru Azeez, said: “If the equipment had come early, the
number of casualities would have reduced. I know this because I was involved in
the rescue operation since 2:10 am. I had to use my rechargeable lantern to
search for the victims. And I assisted in recovering three bodies and rescued
two persons.”
Families of the deceased
Sulaimon Shiaba, a brother to Bukky,
who died in the collapse, said his sister was in her early 30s and traded in
local and foreign fabrics.
“Bukky was sleeping in the house
with her husband, Lanre and Juwon, my brother. She rented the apartment four
years ago. And when she rented the place, I was her guarantor and there wasn’t
any crack on the building but all we could remove from the building were her
cloths and jewellery.”
I thought rapture had taken place
Another occupant who simply gave his
name as Oluwaremilekun said: “I had just finished watching a movie and
was trying to doze off when I heard some cracks followed by a loud noise. At
that point, I thought rapture had taken place and I started praying for mercy.
“Before I knew it, I
discovered that the floor was sinking and thought I was going to hell. I
started shouting ‘have mercy Lord!’ Before I knew it, people started crying and
shouting. I can’t tell how I managed to come out before I realised it was the
building that collapsed. I am grateful to God for sparing my life because I am
not better that those that died.”
A 28-year-old man identified as
Olayinka Mogaji who resided in the ill-fated building said he was on their
third floor apartment with his mother, his sister and a friend when they heard
a loud noise, but before they could ascertain what was happening, the building
came crumbling down on them.
“The walls fell on my mother before
she could run out. It took the intervention of neighbours to save her. I thank
God everyone in our apartment survived. Three of our neighbours on the second
floor were not that lucky, as they all died.”
NEMA confirms
Confirming the incident, the
information officer of the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, Mr.
Ibrahim Farinloye said: “We received the alert about the collapsed building at
about 2:35 am and we arrived at the scene 10 minutes later. Immediately we
arrived, seven bodies were recovered.
“Among the seven bodies were
one-year-old child, three women and five men were rescued from the debris.
“Affected were those who lived on
the first and ground floors. It would have reduced if it wasn’t at night. But
despite that we responded swiftly. Uptil 5:00 am, none of the agency had tuned
up. If there are more people trapped in the building, we will know.”
NEMA spokesman arrested
A mild drama unfolded at the scene
of the collapsed building after spokesperson for NEMA, Mr Ibrahim Farinloye,
was manhandled and arrested by policemen attached to the Rapid Response Squad,
RRS.
His arrest, as gathered, was on the
order of a senior officer of RRS, following Farinloye’s attempt to
prevent the policemen from chasing away some residents who were involved in
rescue operation before the arrival of rescue agents.
Men of the RRS arrived the scene at
noon while NEMA and other rescue operators were still rescuing trapped victims
from the debris. The policemen went into action by first sending away residents
who were helping out. Journalists at the scene were also sent out.
At that point, Farinloye was said to
have stopped the policemen from sending the youths away, explaining that they
had been helping out in the rescue operation even before their arrival.
An unconfirmed report, however,
quoted Farinloye as saying the senior RRS officer who gave the directive
for the residents to leave the scene was stupid. Apparently angry at the
utterance, the officer reportedly ordered Farinloye’s arrest.
Attempt to prevail on the officer
failed as Farinloye was bundled out of the scene.
His arrest temporarily marred the
rescue operation, as NEMA officials protested the arrest of their boss and
thereafter, abandoned the scene.
Farinloye, as gathered, was taken to
Denton police station where efforts to effect his release at about 4pm failed,
as report had it that the Commander of the RRS, Mr Akeem Odumosu,
insisted that Farinloye would be charged to court today.
Not even entreaties by the chairman
of Lagos Mainland Local Government, Oladele Olakanye to Odumosu could
change his mind on Farinloye’s release.
However, Vanguard learnt that
Farinloye was realsed at about 5.50 pm
Source:
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