Dare Babalola
Students and teachers of a school in the Ogba area of Lagos State, on Monday, narrowly escaped death after a four-storey building housing the institution collapsed minutes after they evacuated the structure.
The building was said to have caved in around noon, less than three minutes after students and staff were moved out of the premises.
The building is located at 11 Adudatu street, behind County Hospital, in the Aguda area of Ogba.
Witnesses reported that the building collapsed shortly after students and teachers were quickly evacuated from the premises, averting what residents termed a potentially catastrophic incident.
According to a resident, concerns had been raised earlier when wooden planks reportedly fell from the roof, prompting alarm among people in the neighbourhood.
“The students narrowly escaped the incident. It was just about three minutes after they were evacuated from the building that the structure collapsed,” the resident said, adding that the structure had not shown obvious signs that it was about to give way.
The witness stated that an elderly man in the area alerted the school authorities that the building might be unsafe, prompting the quick evacuation of the occupants.
Taiwo Ridwan, another resident, said the building showed signs of distress shortly before the collapse.
“At first, the house started cracking little by little. The window frames had already fallen apart. After some minutes, the cement body of the house began peeling off. Not long after that, the building just sank,” Ridwan said.
Officials of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service later secured the scene and restricted access to the area.
Part of the property used for residential purposes remained standing beside the collapsed structure.
No casualties had been reported as of the time of this report. The Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service was yet to issue an official statement on the incident.
Attempts to obtain an official reaction from Margaret Adeseye, the service’s director of public affairs, were unsuccessful.
