Four members of the same family have been confirmed dead after a three-storey building collapsed at Popo Giwa, Ilorin, Kwara State, on Tuesday morning.
According to media reports, the incident occurred around 5am at No. 41 Popo Giwa Street, beside Gogoro Mosque, leaving eight members of the family trapped beneath the debris.
An eyewitness, Abdulganiy Musa, who spoke during the rescue operation, said the father of the family was a serving soldier, while the mother was employed as a casual staff member at the Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies, Ilorin.
Musa said rescue workers were making efforts to evacuate those trapped beneath the collapsed structure.
A child identified as Firdaus, the second-to-last born of the family, was among those rescued alive as emergency responders intensified efforts to reach other victims.
An excavator was later brought to the scene to support the rescue team in clearing the debris and accessing those still trapped underneath.
According to media reports, several emergency and security agencies participated in the rescue operation, while ambulances were deployed to transport survivors to medical facilities.
Representing Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq at the scene, the Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Lawal Olohungbebe, described the incident as unfortunate and expressed condolences to the victims’ families.
“The rescue mission began immediately after the collapse and to the Grace of God, some were rescued but unfortunately, we have to take it as this,” he said.
Olohungbebe highlighted the importance of accessible roads in residential communities, noting that the access route to the building helped emergency responders reach the location quickly.
“One of the things that made it very easy for us to rescue the few people we were able to rescue is the access route,” he said.
He called on residents and developers to comply with building and town-planning regulations, especially regulations requiring adequate access roads to residential areas.
The commissioner praised the Ministries of Health and Environment, the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, SEMA, the National Emergency Management Agency, Fire Service, Civil Defence, the Red Cross and other responders for their prompt intervention.
The Kwara State Fire Service later confirmed that four people died in the incident, while four others were rescued alive.
The Public Relations Officer of the Kwara State Fire Service, Hassan Adekunle, disclosed this while speaking at the scene of the incident.
“We have recovered four people dead and rescued four people alive,” he said.
Adekunle said the agency received a distress call at about 5am that a building had collapsed and several people were trapped beneath the rubble.
“We immediately mobilised to the scene and commenced rescue operation. This kind of situation is not something the fire service can handle alone,” he said.
He said officials of the Hospitals Management Board, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and other emergency agencies also joined the rescue efforts.
The fire service spokesman explained that the cause of the collapse would only be established after the structure had undergone a thorough assessment.
“We are only here to ascertain the actual cause of this collapse and rescue the trapped victims. As at when due, we will communicate to the media about our findings,” he said.
Adekunle added that if the assessment showed that the structure needed to be demolished, the appropriate authorities would act accordingly, while occupants would be advised appropriately if the remaining sections were considered safe.
He sympathised with the victims’ families and urged residents to report unusual signs noticed in their buildings or leave immediately if they observed anything suggesting a potential danger.
The Kwara State Emergency Management Agency also confirmed that four people died and four others were rescued from the collapsed building.
The SEMA Secretary, Magaji Saadudeen, said eight people had been trapped in the building, adding that the rescued victims and remains of the deceased were taken to hospital.
“The rescued persons are receiving treatment presently,” Saadudeen said.
Speaking about the building, the Kwara State Commissioner of Police, Ojo Adekimi, said it was a three-storey structure and that the collapsed section was the boys’ quarters.
“It was a three-storey building that collapsed. Our findings showed that the boys’ quarter of the building that collapsed. Information gathered revealed that eight people were trapped in the building,” he said.
Adekimi said the rescued victims had been conveyed to hospital, while the bodies of those who died were also removed from the site.
“For now, the situation is under control. We will examine the remaining building and see how people can be secured. But for now, we have evacuated everybody from the main building,” he said.
The police commissioner advised residents to remain alert to warning signs, including leakages and other indications of structural defects in buildings.
The Chairman of Ilorin West Local Government Area, AbdulRahman Babatunde Ladan, who monitored the rescue operation, commended emergency agencies and residents for responding promptly to the incident.
Ladan said approximately six to seven ambulances were deployed to the scene to assist with evacuating victims and transporting them for medical treatment.
He encouraged residents to promptly report structural defects and vacate buildings whenever they noticed signs suggesting that a collapse could occur.
“Whenever you discover something like this, please escalate it. Get to the point of evacuating yourself and your family members from that building. Life is the priority,” he said.
The council chairman further advised prospective developers to use quality construction materials and employ qualified professionals to supervise building projects, stressing that compliance with building standards was crucial to preventing structural failures.
