How Collapsed Three Storey Building Trapped 3-Year Old Boy

CYRIACUS IZUEKWE

Facts have emerged on how a three storey building collapsed at night in Lagos and fell on top of a 3-year old boy while asleep.

P.M.EXPRESS reports that the 3-year old twin died on Monday night when another marked distressed three storey building collapsed at the popular Oju-Ina area of Agarawu, Lagos Island.

The boy, Kehinde Okedairo, who was sleeping with his mother in their room at 4, Hassani Lane, Agarawu, lost his life when the building at the back marked for demolition by the Lagos State Government, situated at 54 Palm Church Street, Agarawu, caved in.

It was gathered that when the 3-storey building on Palm Church Street fell on the deceased’s house at about 10.40pm, the mother was able to escape and the little boy was trapped under the rubbles.

Eye witness accounted that youths from the community rushed to the scene to rescue the boy but to no avail not until about 12.50 am when his lifeless body was brought out, which everyone believed to have been caused by too much heat under the rubbles.

Speaking with P.M.EXPRESS correspondent, the Chairman of the CDA in the area, Mr. Fatai Oriade, lamented that the distressed house had been marked for demolition for a long time by the state government agency on building control but failed to carry out the exercise until when it caused havoc.

He said, “When we noticed that the building had been marked for demolition we ordered every occupants of the house to move out, because we don’t want to witness another calamity and after they had gone we locked the house and prevented people from sleeping there. When we saw the Lagos State building control officials, we approached them to come to our rescue and know the situation of the building. But unfortunately one of them told us that it was not yet time for them to come for the demolition of the house”.

He added: “If they had acted on our plea, probably the little boy wouldn’t have died. We have lost a promising boy, which nobody knows what he would become in future”.

Another resident in the area, Taofiki Abimbola, claimed that there are a lot of pending marked building that needed to be demolished that are yet to be touched by the building agency.

He said, “As I speak with you now, there is a building marked for demolition at No. 28 Agarawu Street which is a three storey building posing danger to the residents.
“We are dying like chickens on the Island as a result of collapsed buildings; government should not relent in the demolition exercise they embarked on. I learnt the boy was the only child of her mother, I don’t know where the woman will start from. The mother of the little boy has been taken to her sister’s house because of people coming to console her. The incoming Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu should take the issue of collapsed building on the Island seriously.”
He emphasized, “Many people have lost their lives through the houses built by these developers. Government should arrest and prosecute any developer whose building collapsed and use them as deterrent to others.”
When P.M.EXPRESS correspondent visited the scene of incident, officials of the Lagos State Building Control Agency, Lagos State Ambulance Emergency Service (LASAMBUS) and policemen from Adeniji Adele Police Division were seen at the scene of the collapsed building.