Some residents of Cole Street in the Oyingbo area of Lagos State, where a two-storey building collapsed, killing one person and injuring 26 others, have revealed that the occupants ignored several warning signs before the tragedy occurred.
When reporters visited the scene on Monday, they found that the area was filled with debris from the fallen structure, with goods such as crates of beer and motorcycles destroyed in the collapse. Emergency responders, including officials from the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), the Red Cross, and the Lagos Neighbourhood Security Corps, were on the ground conducting rescue operations.
A shop owner in the building, Mrs. Adaeze, said the government had warned the occupants to evacuate, but the building’s owner refused to cooperate.
“I was called in the middle of the night that the building had collapsed, so I rushed down here,” she said. “My goods worth millions of naira are trapped under the rubble. The government had told us several times to leave because the building was in distress, but the owner didn’t listen.”
She appealed for government assistance to help her recover from the losses.
Another resident, Habeeb Jamiu, said the collapse happened shortly after heavy rainfall around 1 a.m. According to him, the sound of people crying for help woke up neighbours, who immediately began rescue efforts before emergency officials arrived.
“The building had visible cracks,” Jamiu said. “Anyone passing by could tell it was weak. I don’t know why people still stayed there.”
Another witness, Hakeem Ibrahim, confirmed that the building had long shown signs of distress. He said some residents might still be trapped under the rubble due to how many people lived in the house.
“I was at Roundabout when I saw police and ambulances rushing in, so I followed them,” he said. “When I got here, the building had already collapsed. Some people had started rescuing victims before the officials came.”
At the hospital where some of the injured were taken, medical staff told reporters that the victims were not in stable condition to speak.
Authorities confirmed that one person died while 26 others were rescued. The Controller General of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Margaret Adeseye, said in a statement that the building had earlier been marked as distressed before it gave way.
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“It is an ongoing rescue involving a two-storey building which had reportedly been marked in distress before collapsing on the occupants,” she said.
Lagos has recorded several similar incidents in 2025 alone. On September 25, six people were rescued after a two-storey building collapsed on Modupeola Street, Mangoro, Alimosho. Earlier on September 16, two construction workers were pulled out alive after four days trapped under a collapsed building in Ebute Metta.
These recurring collapses highlight the growing concern over structural safety and enforcement of building regulations in the state.
