Four members of the same family have been confirmed dead after a three-storey building collapsed at Popo Giwa, Ilorin, Kwara State, on Tuesday morning.

The PUNCH gathered that the incident occurred around 5am at No. 41 Popo Giwa Street, beside Gogoro Mosque, with eight members of the family initially trapped beneath the rubble.

Speaking with our correspondent during the rescue operation, an eyewitness, Abdulganiy Musa, said the father of the family was a serving soldier, while the mother worked as a casual staff member at the Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies, Ilorin.

Musa said rescue workers were engaged in efforts to evacuate the victims trapped under the collapsed structure.

A child identified as Firdaus, the second-to-last born of the family, was among those rescued alive from the rubble as emergency responders intensified the operation.

An excavator was later deployed to the scene to assist rescuers in removing the debris and gaining access to the remaining trapped victims.

Findings by The PUNCH showed that several emergency and security agencies were involved in the rescue operation, with ambulances deployed to evacuate survivors for medical attention.

Representing Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq at the scene, the Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Lawal Olohungbebe, described the incident as unfortunate and condoled with 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,” he said.

Olohungbebe stressed the importance of accessible roads in residential areas, saying the access route to the building contributed to the ease with which emergency responders were able to reach the scene.

“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 developers to respect building and town-planning regulations, particularly the need to maintain access roads to residential areas.

The commissioner commended the Ministries of Health and Environment, the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, SEMA, the National Emergency Management Agency, Fire Service, Civil Defence, the Red Cross and other responders for their swift intervention.

The Kwara State Fire Service subsequently confirmed that four people died while four others were rescued alive.

The Public Relations Officer of the Kwara State Fire Service, Hassan Adekunle, disclosed this while speaking at the scene of the incident.

“We have recovered four people dead and rescued four people alive,” he said.

Adekunle said the agency received a distress call at about 5am reporting that a building had collapsed and people were trapped underneath.

“We immediately mobilised to the scene and commenced rescue operation. This kind of situation is not something the fire service can handle alone,” he said.

He added that officials of the Hospitals Management Board, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and other emergency agencies joined the rescue operation.

The fire service spokesman said the cause of the collapse would be determined after a proper assessment of the structure.

“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 said.

Adekunle said if the assessment warranted demolition, the relevant authorities would take appropriate action, while occupants would be advised accordingly if the structures were found to be safe.

He commiserated with the families of the victims and urged residents to report unusual signs in their buildings or evacuate immediately when they noticed anything that could indicate danger.

The Kwara State Emergency Management Agency also confirmed the death of four people and the rescue of four others.

The SEMA Secretary, Magaji Saadudeen, said eight people were trapped in the building, adding that the rescued victims and bodies of the deceased had been taken to hospital.

“The rescued persons are receiving treatment presently,” Saadudeen said.

Speaking on the structure, the Kwara State Commissioner of Police, Ojo Adekimi, said it was a three-storey building and that the portion that collapsed was the boys’ quarters.

“It was a three-storey building that collapsed. Our findings showed that the boys’ quarter of the building that collapsed.
Information gathered revealed that eight people were trapped in the building,” he said.

Adekimi said the rescued victims had been taken to hospital while the bodies of those who died were also evacuated.

“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,” he said.

The police commissioner said residents should pay attention to warning signs such as leakages and other structural defects in buildings.

The Chairman of Ilorin West Local Government Area, AbdulRahman Babatunde Ladan, who monitored the rescue operation, also commended the emergency agencies and residents for their prompt response.

Ladan said about six to seven ambulances were deployed to the scene to support the evacuation of victims for medical attention.

He urged residents to report structural defects promptly and evacuate buildings whenever they noticed 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,” he said.

The council chairman also advised prospective developers to use quality materials and engage qualified professionals to supervise construction, stressing that adherence to building standards was essential to preventing structural failures. (PUNCH)

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, on Thursday, will deliver the 7th yearly lecture of Freedom Online newspaper.

Theme of the event, which holds in Ikeja, Lagos, is “2027 Elections, Economy, Security and Nigeria’s Future”.

Former Information Minister, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, is the Chairman of the event while former Governor of Ogun State, who is currently representing Ogun East District in the Senate, Senator Gbenga Daniel, is the Special Guest of Honour.

According to a statement by the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of the newspaper, Gabriel Akinadewo, other eminent Nigerians will grace the epoch-making event.

President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) and Editor of Vanguard, Eze Anaba, is the Chief Host.

The Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ola Olukoyede, says more than 40 staff members have been dismissed for corruption and financial malpractice in the last three years.

Olukoyede disclosed this on Monday in Abuja at a media interactive session to mark his three-year stewardship at the commission’s headquarters.

The chairman also said that about five of the commission’s staff are currently being prosecuted for corrupt practices.

“In the past two and a half to three years of my service, I have asked them to dismiss over 40 staff on account of corruption and financial malpractice. More than five of them are being prosecuted at the moment,” he said.

The EFCC chairman said some of the affected staff members are already being prosecuted, while case files involving others are being prepared for prosecution.

“You can follow those cases in court; they are public knowledge.

“If that is what people do in other agencies and I arrest them, I investigate them, I prosecute them, why must I just dismiss you if you do it within our own system and I’m not prosecuting you?” he asked.

Olukoyede said the disciplinary measures were part of efforts to ensure EFCC personnel were held to the same standards of accountability the agency demanded from other Nigerians.

“You must be sure that your hands are clean. You can’t be fighting corruption when your hands are soiled with corrupt practices,” he said.

The EFCC chairman also announced the renaming of the commission’s former Internal Affairs Department to the Department of Ethics and Integrity as part of its drive for “internal cleansing.”

He said the commission had also introduced a gift policy to strengthen transparency and prevent conflicts of interest.

According to him, under the policy, staff will be required to declare gifts above a specified value, including those received from friends and relatives at home and abroad.

“The commission will also define the categories of gifts personnel can accept and require officers to account for their sources of income and standard of living,” he added.

The chairman called for stronger institutional reforms and policy changes to fight corruption, saying law enforcement alone could not win the war.

“The most effective system that fights financial crime is not law enforcement. It is the policy regime, institutional reforms that close leakages,” he said.

He urged the media and civil society to return to their watchdog roles.

(NAN)