Four members of the same family have died after a three-storey building collapsed at Popo Giwa in Ilorin, Kwara State, in the early hours of Tuesday.
The building, located at No. 41 Popo Giwa Street, beside Gogoro Mosque, collapsed at about 5am, trapping eight members of the family beneath the rubble.
An eyewitness, Deji Yusuf, who spoke to journalists during the rescue operation, said the father of the family is a serving soldier, while the mother works as a casual staff member at the Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies, Ilorin.
Rescue workers immediately mobilised to the scene to search for those trapped under the debris.
One of the victims, a child identified as Firdaus, the second-to-last born of the family, was rescued alive as emergency responders intensified efforts to reach those still trapped.
An excavator was later brought to the scene to assist rescuers in clearing the debris and accessing the remaining victims.
Several emergency and security agencies participated in the operation, while ambulances were deployed to evacuate survivors to hospitals for medical attention.
The Kwara State Fire Service later confirmed the casualties, saying several other people sustained injuries in the incident.
The agency’s Public Relations Officer, Hassan Adekunle, who was present at the scene, said the fire service received a distress call at about 5am reporting that a building had collapsed with people trapped underneath.
“We immediately mobilised to the scene and commenced the rescue operation. This kind of situation is not something the fire service can handle alone,” Adekunle said.
He explained that officials of the Hospitals Management Board, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and other emergency agencies joined the rescue efforts.
“We are only here to ascertain the actual cause of this collapse and rescue the trapped victims. As of when due, we will communicate to the media about our findings,” he added.
Adekunle said if the assessment showed that the remaining structure required demolition, the relevant authorities would take appropriate action. Occupants would also be advised accordingly if the building was deemed safe.
The Kwara State Emergency Management Agency confirmed that eight people were trapped in the building, adding that survivors and the bodies of those who died were taken to the hospital.
“The rescued persons are receiving treatment presently,” the Kwara SEMA Secretary, Magaji Saadudeen, said.
Boys’ Quarters Collapsed
Providing further details, the Kwara State Commissioner of Police, Ojo Adekimi, clarified that only a specific section of the building had collapsed.
“Our findings showed that it was the boys’ quarters of the building that collapsed,” Adekimi said.
“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.”
Meanwhile, the Kwara State Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Lawal Olohungbebe, described the incident as unfortunate and expressed condolences to the victims’ families.
Olohungbebe, who represented Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq at the scene, said rescue operations commenced immediately after the collapse.
“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.
The commissioner also highlighted the importance of accessible roads in residential areas, noting that the access route to the building helped emergency responders reach the scene 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 urged residents and property developers to comply with building and town-planning regulations to prevent similar tragedies.
Olohungbebe commended the Ministries of Health and Environment, the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, the National Emergency Management Agency, the Fire Service, Civil Defence, the Red Cross and other emergency responders for their swift intervention.
