Four members of the same family have died after a three-storey building collapsed in Popo Giwa, Ilorin, Kwara State, on Tuesday morning.
The incident occurred at about 5am at No. 41 Popo Giwa Street, beside Gogoro Mosque. Eight members of the family were initially trapped beneath the rubble.
An eyewitness, Abdulganiy Musa, told Channels Television during the rescue operation that 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 in Ilorin.
Emergency responders immediately began efforts to reach those trapped inside the collapsed structure. One of the victims, a child identified as Firdaus, who was the second-to-last born of the family, was rescued alive.
An excavator was later brought to the scene to help remove the heavy debris and give rescuers better access to the remaining victims.
Several emergency and security agencies participated in the operation, while ambulances were deployed to transport survivors to the hospital for treatment.
The Kwara State Fire Service confirmed that the collapse resulted in fatalities and injuries.
Its Public Relations Officer, Hassan Adekunle, said the agency received a distress call around 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, adding that officials of the Hospitals Management Board, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, and other emergency agencies joined the rescue operation.
He explained that officials were also working to establish what caused the collapse and assess the condition of the remaining structure.
“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 said.
Adekunle added that if the assessment showed that the structure needed to be demolished, the appropriate authorities would take action. Occupants would also be advised accordingly if the remaining sections were found to be safe.
The Kwara State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) confirmed that eight people were trapped when the building collapsed.
According to the agency, those rescued and the bodies recovered from the rubble were taken to the hospital.
“The rescued persons are receiving treatment presently,” the Kwara SEMA Secretary, Magaji Saadudeen, said.
The Kwara State Commissioner of Police, Ojo Adekimi, provided further clarification on the structure, saying it was a specific section of the building that 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.”
The Kwara State 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,” the commissioner, who represented Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq at the scene, said.
Olohungbebe 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, urging residents and developers to comply with building and town-planning regulations.
He also commended the various agencies involved in the rescue operation, including 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 and the Red Cross.
The Chairman of Ilorin West Local Government Area, AbdulRahman Ladan, who monitored the operation, similarly praised residents and emergency responders for their swift intervention. He said between six and seven ambulances were deployed to evacuate victims.
Ladan and security officials urged residents and developers to take structural warning signs seriously and avoid cutting corners during construction.
“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.
He also advised developers to use quality building materials and engage qualified professionals to supervise construction in order to reduce the risk of structural failures.
