A five-year-old boy lost his life while others were injured when the beam of a building collapsed on them on Lagos Island, Lagos. The building, located at 19, Church Street, Lagos Island, collapsed late in the night on Wednesday while residents were asleep. Although it couldn’t be confirmed by the residents, government agencies said the building had been slated for “non-integrity test because of visible cracks on the beam and columns”. The agencies also claimed that all the tenants had been asked to evacuate the building and that the building had been cordoned off for the safety of residents.
The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) and the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) said a five-yearold boy died when the beam crashed on him. During his visit to the scene of the incident, the LASEMA Director-General (DG), Dr. Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, said investigations revealed that the building had been slated for a non-integrity test. The DG added all the tenants had been asked to evacuate the building.
He said: “The situation report on the impending collapsed building at 19, Church Street, Lagos Island, stated that upon arrival at the scene, a room beam partially collapsed on a fiveyear- old boy at the aforementioned address.” Also, the LASBCA General Manager, Gbolahan Oki, said that initial investigations conducted by the agency revealed that the collapse occurred late in the night while residents were asleep. Commiserating with families of affected victims, Oki appealed to Lagosians to always report cases of distressed buildings around them. This, according to him, will help to stem the tide of needless loss of lives and property due to building collapse.
The GM said the agency had taken several steps to address issues of collapse in recent times, which included massive stakeholders’ engagement and enlightenment with building developers, owners and even occupiers on the need to build right, using the right materials, professionals and involving LASBCA in all stages of construction.
He said: “LASBC is passionate about the need for Lagosians to build right. You need to do the proper thing, ensure you have your necessary permits, obtain your letter of authorisation before the commencement of any building project and always involve LASBCA in all stages of your project. This will help us to achieve a safe, secure and habitable building for the Lagos of our dreams.” Oki also appealed with other residents in the building to vacate immediately. He said the building would be totally removed in the coming days to avoid total collapse which could be fatal.
