CYRIACUS IZUEKWE
Panic gripped Adedoyin Street, Ijegun in the Ikotun area of Alimosho Local Government, Lagos State, on Monday after a storey building collapsed during manual demolition, leaving one worker trapped under the rubble.
The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, confirmed the incident, saying it received a distress call at about 1:44 p.m. on Monday, October 26, 2026, through its emergency toll-free lines.
In a statement issued by its Permanent Secretary, LASEMA said its rescue team from the Igando Base was immediately deployed to the scene of the incident.
On arrival, the agency discovered that a building undergoing manual demolition had caved in, trapping one worker beneath the debris. Another worker who sustained a hand injury during the collapse had been taken to a nearby hospital for treatment before the arrival of emergency responders.
LASEMA said a coordinated search and rescue operation is ongoing at the site in collaboration with the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service and the Lagos State Ambulance Service, LASAMBUS.
The area has been cordoned off to prevent secondary incidents and to allow rescue equipment to operate without obstruction. Officials said crowd control measures have been put in place as residents gathered at the scene.
Eyewitnesses in the area told
P.M.EXPRESS that the building, which was said to be a single-storey structure, had been marked for demolition before the manual work commenced. According to residents, local labourers were engaged to bring down the structure when part of it suddenly collapsed, trapping one of them.
The eyewitnesses said the sound of the collapse attracted neighbours, who initially attempted to rescue the trapped worker before the arrival of the emergency team.
The agency noted that preliminary information indicated the building was being demolished manually when the structure suddenly gave way. The exact cause of the collapse is yet to be determined.
The Lagos State Government is expected to investigate the incident to ascertain whether building control regulations and safety procedures for demolition were complied with.
LASEMA advised residents and developers to always engage certified professionals and obtain necessary approvals from the Lagos State Building Control Agency, LASBCA, before carrying out demolition exercises, especially for multi-storey structures.
The agency also urged residents to report any unsafe building or illegal demolition activities through its emergency lines 767 and 112.
As at the time of filing this report at 10 p.m. on Monday, rescue operation was still ongoing to locate and extricate the trapped worker. LASEMA said its heavy-duty equipment has been deployed to carefully remove the debris without endangering the trapped victim.
The incident comes amid renewed concerns over building collapses in Lagos State, particularly in densely populated areas of Alimosho, where several cases of distressed buildings have been reported in recent months.
Officials of the Lagos State Building Control Agency have in recent weeks intensified enforcement against illegal developments and buildings without proper approval in Alimosho, Agege, and Ifako-Ijaiye axis.
LASEMA assured that updates will be provided as the rescue operation progresses and called for calm among residents.
Residents of Ijegun, Ikotun, and adjoining communities in Alimosho are advised to avoid the affected section of Adedoyin Street to allow emergency workers to complete the operation safely.