A mother and four of her children have died after part of a three-storey building collapsed on them at Popo Giwa, Ilorin, Kwara State.
The incident occurred around 5am on Tuesday at No. 41 Popo Giwa Street, near Gogoro Mosque, trapping eight members of the same family beneath the debris.
Three survivors, including the father of the family, were pulled out alive as emergency responders battled to reach those trapped under the rubble.
The Public Relations Officer of the Kwara State Fire Service, Hassan Adekunle, confirmed that four people were recovered dead while another four were rescued alive.
Adekunle said the emergency agency received a distress call at about 5am and immediately deployed personnel to the scene.
“We immediately mobilised to the scene and commenced the rescue operation. This kind of situation is not something the fire service can handle alone,” he said.
An excavator was subsequently brought in as rescuers cleared the debris and searched for the trapped occupants.
One of the survivors, identified as Firdaus, who was said to be the second-to-last child of the family, was among those rescued.
Recounting the rescue operation, one of the rescuers, who identified himself as Abdul, said the building gave way while the occupants were waking up.
He said the rescue team first recovered the mother and her youngest child, aged between five and seven, from beneath the collapsed structure.
“We brought out the mother with her last child on her chest, but both were dead. The building had collapsed on the bed where they slept,” Abdul said.
He explained that rescuers later heard the voice of the father, who had gone to the toilet to perform ablution before the collapse.
According to him, the discovery prompted the team to dig through the rubble until they reached the man.
“That was his saving grace. It was only the wood from the old building that stopped a big pillar from crushing him. We had to dig through and pull him out,” he said.
Abdul disclosed that the father is a serving military officer currently on medical leave.
He added that one of the deceased, the eldest daughter, was a student of Usman Danfodio University, Sokoto, and was expected to begin her National Youth Service Corps programme on Thursday.
The Secretary of the Kwara State Emergency Management Agency, Magaji Saadudeen, said the eight victims trapped in the building were members of the same family.
He said the survivors were taken to hospital for medical attention, while the remains of the deceased were removed from the scene.
The Kwara State Commissioner of Police, Ojo Adekimi, said preliminary investigations showed that the collapsed section was the boys’ quarters of the three-storey building.
“It was a three-storey building, and our findings showed that the boys’ quarters was the section that collapsed. Information gathered revealed that eight people were trapped,” he said.
Adekimi said occupants of the main building had been evacuated while authorities assess its structural integrity.
“For now, the situation is under control. We will examine the remaining structures and determine how best to secure the people. For now, everybody has been evacuated from the main building,” he said.
The Fire Service said the actual cause of the collapse had yet to be determined, stressing that a technical assessment was necessary before reaching any conclusion.
Adekunle said, “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 added that the authorities would recommend demolition if the assessment established that the structure posed a danger, while occupants would be allowed to return if it was certified safe.
Representing Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq at the scene, the Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Lawal Olohungbebe, described the incident as tragic and sympathised with the bereaved family.
“The rescue mission began immediately after the collapse and, by the grace of God, some were rescued, but unfortunately, we have to take it as this,” he said.
Olohungbebe attributed part of the successful rescue effort to the accessibility of the road leading to the affected building.
He urged developers and residents to adhere strictly to building and town-planning regulations, particularly those concerning access roads.
The Chairman of Ilorin West Local Government Area, AbdulRahman Babatunde Ladan, said six to seven ambulances were deployed to evacuate the victims.
He advised residents to promptly report structural defects and vacate buildings whenever they notice signs of possible collapse.
“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,” Ladan said.
Personnel from SEMA, the National Emergency Management Agency, Fire Service, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, police, Red Cross and health agencies took part in the rescue operation.
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