Nation
10 Die, 28 Rescued In Lagos Building Collapse
Ten persons comprising five men, four females and a four-year-old boy were confirmed dead on Monday following the collapse of a three-storey building in Lagos on Sunday.
Twenty-eight others were rescued from the debris.
The building located at the popular Ibadan Street, Ebute Meta, a densely populated neighborhood, caved in around 9.48pm on Sunday.
A bread seller, her adult foster son, a young man, his mother, an aged man with hearing impairment, a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member, Oluwakemi, an unnamed elderly woman and her child were among those recovered dead from underneath the rubble by emergency responders who worked overnight at the scene.
Two more bodies were pulled later from the rubble.
A lady, who died in the building, was said to have first come out before going back to fetch her phone, and was crushed by the collapsing structure.
It was gathered that seven of those rescued alive were children, while most of the 24 survivors sustained minor injuries.
A survivor, Goke Ogunbambi, said he was sleeping on the topmost floor when the building collapsed.
Ogunbambi, a civil engineer, had lived in the compound for a decade.
“I am a spinal injury patient. I was asleep around 9:30pm when I heard the noise, I imagined that the building was collapsing and I was naked. When we got to the ground, people came to rescue me. I was with my woman when it happened,” he said.
An inconsolable man, who lost his wife and son in the building, said he and his family were on about moving out, and were only waiting for the tiling work in the new place to be completed, when the building fell.
He said he was returning from the new house when he heard about the collapse.
According to eye witnesses, the building caved in while some of the occupants were observing their Salat prayers.
It was learnt that the structure had been defective for over a year and showed obvious signs of danger but the occupants ignored them.
It was alleged that the landlord’s son, Soji Dosunmu, who was in charge of the building, also issued quit notices to all tenants and moved out of the property to a rented apartment.
It was further said that the developer failed to carry out repairs on the property, as instructed by the owners.
However, while of the tenants vacated the structure, others refused to leave especially as they were no longer paying rent
A nearby neighbour, Omotola Gabriel, said it was a common knowledge to most residents that the building would collapse soon.
“I had just finished taking my dinner when the atmosphere of the neighbouring building went dark and by the time we looked towards the direction to find out why, we were told that the building had collapsed and we rushed to the scene only to find out that some occupants had been trapped,” she said.
A resident, Dr. Olarenwaju Ayade, described the incident as saddening.
“The rescue team came around early. We rescued about 10 victims initially and they were taken to our local health centre. The building has been here for over 10 years. The rescue team has been here since last night and they have not even blinked,” he said.
Strategic regulators and other stakeholders have expressed satisfaction with the pace, quality and magnitude of work carried out by the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) in Ogoniland, in line with the recommendations of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
In their separate speeches at the 2025 4th quarter key regulators / asset owners meeting held in Port Harcourt, the strategic stakeholders commended HYPREP for the significant milestones achieved with excellent efficiency and transparency, demonstrating capacity and commitment to sustaining collaboration with development partners for the overall success of the Project.
The regulators particularly lauded HYPREP for the landmark success in the implementation of the land and shoreline remediation, mangrove restoration, provision of reticulated potable water, the various sustainable livelihood programmes, donation of ambulances to health facilities in Ogoni, the construction of Centre of Excellence for Environmental Restoration, as well as the ongoing Ogoni Power Project, adding that their independent field reports have shown proofs of HYPREP driving even beyond its mandates.
The goodwill messages were made by representatives of the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), Centre for Environment and Human Rights Development (CEHRD), Society for Women and Youths Affairs (SWAYA), Stakeholders Democracy Network (SDN), Nigerian Pipelines and Storage Company (NPSC), and Federal Ministry of Environment. Others are the Rivers State Ministry of Environment, the Rivers State Ministry of Health, the National Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), the Rivers State Ministry of Power, the Rivers State University, the Rivers State Ministry of Water and Rural Development, and Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited.
Following the Monitoring and Evaluation Unit’s presentation on the status of HYPREP projects, participants offered feedback on areas of concern. They reassured HYPREP and the people of Ogoni of their continued support for the Project’s success. They also suggested that the quarterly review meeting be sustained as it enables them to report, evaluate and proffer solutions to areas of concern.
Participants also commended HYPREP for improved community and stakeholder engagement and for adding to what they saw the previous time. “We commend HYPREP for the quality work done at sites. The progress is phenomenal, because HYPREP is scoring good grades, above average,” Prof. Iyenemi Kakulu from Rivers State University said.
In his speech at the event, the Project Coordinator of HYPREP, Prof Nenibarini Zabbey, who was represented by Prof Damian-Paul Aguiyi, Director of Technical Services, commended the regulators and asset owners for their cooperation with the Project, and for making themselves available for fieldwork and the regular review meetings.
Prof Zabbey reiterated HYPREP’s commitment to best practice in waste management, particularly waste generation and disposal, calling on the Regulators for adequate logistics support, saying HYPREP’s priority is to focus on the core recommendations by UNEP, especially, remediation(soil, shoreline) mangrove restoration, provision of potable water, interventions in public health care services and sustainable livelihood for the people.
The Project Coordinator further highlighted the status of the Project, the successes achieved across all thematic areas, and assured that HYPREP will soon complete most of the ongoing projects and roll out others. He explained that the purpose of the meeting was to review the progress of the Ogoni cleanup, ensure quality control, and foster effective collaboration.
Consequently, the quarterly key regulators/asset owners meeting is HYPREP’s strategic stakeholder management model, further underscoring the Project’s commitment to transparency, partnership for development, and accountability, all of which are harbingers of effective project delivery.
Speaking to newsmen, HYPREP Project Support Lead and representative of Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited, Engr Ehioze Igbinomwanhia, described his involvement with HYPREPas an encouraging and insightful experience, saying, the Project is implementing a wide range of projects across Ogoniland, spanning immediate remediation works as well as livelihood support initiatives aimed at improving the welfare of affected communities.
Engr Igbinomwanhia emphasised that Renaissance Africa Energy remains fully committed to supporting the objectives of the Ogoni cleanup project, noting that the company has a long history of collaboration with HYPREP.
He added that the partnership has been characterised by continuous learning, adaptation and a willingness to respond to observations and recommendations aimed at improving outcomes.
He further emphasised the importance of safety in all project operations, particularly given the challenging terrain and operating conditions in Ogoniland.
He noted that safety is treated as a critical priority and that contractors are continually reminded to maintain high safety standards, stressing that lessons learnt from previous operational challenges like the collapse of the water tank in Gwara Community are being applied to strengthen safety practices and overall performance.
The Rivers state Government has identified six local government areas with the highest burden of maternal and Neonatal mortality in the state.
State Commissioner for Health Dr Adaeze Chidinma Oreh said this in an interview with newsmen at the Maternal and Neonatal Reduction innovation initiative ( Mamii)Rivers state activation workshop and state engagement meeting in Port Harcourt.
The event was organized by The Federal Ministry of Health in conjunction with its Rivers state counterpart in Port Harcourt.
Dr Oreh also restated the preparedness of the state government to support current efforts by the federal government towards the reduction of maternal and infant mortalities in the country.
She mentioned the affected Local Government Areas to include, Andoni,Akuku Toru and Ahoada West
The rest according to the Commissioner are, Bonny, Etche and Emohua Local Government Areas.
She said the workshop will enable the team from the federal ministry of health and social welfare to brainstorm with the view to finding solution to the problem.
The Commissioner also gave reasons why the Mamii initiative was the best as far as finding solution to maternal mortality was concerned.
“The uniqueness of the Mamii initiative driven by the federal ministry of health and social welfare was that we used evidence to elicit the reasons for this deaths, so that the solutions will be context specific and tailored to the particular environment where those deaths are occuring
“For us in Rivers state we have six Mamii LGAs , nationally we we have 172 local government areas “the Commissioner said.
Earlier in her opening remarks,Dr Oreh said the state government is prepared to work with the federal ministry of health and social welfare to check the rate of maternal mortality in the state.
She commended The Minister of Health and Social welfare Professor Ali Muhammad Pategi for driving the Mamii initiative across the country and expressed optimism that the programm will see to the end of maternal mortality in the country.
Also speaking the National Coordinator Nigeria health sector Renewal Initiative Dr Adam Ahmed said Rivers state is the last state among Mamii states in the country to host the team.
He said the team will visit the affected Local Government Areas with the view to interacting with the people on how to check the trend.
He expressed the hope that with continuous efforts, maternal mortality will be checked.
Also speaking the permanent secretary Rivers state Ministry of Health Professor Justinah Jumbo said the government is not leaving any stone unturned towards reduction in maternal deaths.
The permanent secretary said Governor Siminalaye Fubara is a health friendly Governor who is desirous in improving the quality of health of Rivers people.
John Bibor
