By John Ikani
The death toll from Sunday’s building collapse in Lekki, Lagos State has risen to five after rescue workers recovered one more body from the rubbles on Monday.
The seven-storey building located at Oba Idowu Oniru Street in Lekki was still under construction when it caved in on Sunday morning and reportedly killed two people initially, but the death toll later rose to four before the latest recovery, officials said.
It is unclear how many people were in the building at the time of collapse, “some say more than 30 people jumped to safety yesterday”, said Ibrahim Farinloye, office coordinator for the National Emergency Management Agency in Lagos state.
“No-one has been rescue alive,” he added.
Notwithstanding, rescue operations are ongoing as more people are believed to be buried under the rubble.
The building is believed to have been sealed by the Lagos state government about a year ago and construction was supposed to have stopped.
In response to the events, Lagos state Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu ordered the arrest of the developer of the building, who is still at large.
What you should know
Building collapses are common in Africa’s most populous nation, where millions live in dilapidated structures and construction standards are often flouted.
The standards of buildings have been in the spotlight since a high-rise building under construction collapsed in Lagos in November last year, killing at least 45 people.
Since 2005, at least 152 buildings have collapsed in Lagos, according to a South African university researcher.
Bad workmanship, low-quality materials, and corruption to bypass official oversight are often blamed for Nigerian building disasters.
