Building With Over 500 Rooms Collapse, Two Injure In Lagos
By Eunice Odebiyi
A former school building that had been converted into a residential structure in Ketu, Lagos, partially collapsed on Sunday.
Salient Times reports that at least two people were injured in the incident and are currently in critical condition at a private hospital.
The building, known as Agboye Estate on Oduntan Street in Ketu, contains over 800 rooms and houses hundreds of residents. It initially collapsed on Saturday afternoon after heavy rainfall in the area.
While residents were still attempting to recover their belongings on Sunday, the building experienced another collapse, damaging another structure within the compound before ultimately collapsing entirely.
The situation sparked panic in the area, leading to the evacuation of hundreds of families and individuals who had been living in the building.
On Sunday, numerous residents were observed relocating their possessions in various directions while officials from the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) secured the premises.
The affected compound housing several defective buildings has been marked for demolition by Lagos officials.
In December 2014, after several weeks of investigation, the publication released a report titled “500-room house in Lagos where tenants live as Prisoners,” addressing the collapsed building.
The report detailed the appalling living conditions of Agboye Estate tenants, who had to cope with snakes, scorpions, and other hazardous creatures due to stagnant sewage water at the rear of the building.
In most of the blocks constructed only inches away from each other, at least 12 rooms shared a single toilet and bathroom.
On average, two persons occupy each room, bringing the number of users of a single toilet to 24.
In addition, the tenants were prohibited from using power generators, electric kettles, air conditioners, or even holding significant social events such as naming ceremonies or birthdays within the premises by the landlord, Onamo Agboye.
The only entrance leading in and out of the compound closes at 11:00 p.m. daily — nobody goes in or out once the clock ticks.
The Lagos State Government following the report partially sealed the building but lifted the sanction a few days later.
The landlord of Agboye Estate has since gone into hiding following Sunday’s tragedy.
