No fewer than three persons were trapped under the decking of an uncompleted story building that collapsed in the Ayetoro area of Osogbo, the Osun State capital, while two others were rescued from the debris.
The tragedy occurred around 8 a.m. on Sunday, 14th July, 2024.
The building, which was often occupied by hoodlums for illicit activities, left good Samaritans working tirelessly within their physical capacity to break the decking and connected rods to save those trapped in the incident.
The Osun State Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), in a statement by its spokesperson, Kehinde Adeleke, explained that two people have been rescued so far while the remaining three are still trapped under the decking, requiring the use of a crane.
According to her, “While we await the crane, people are doing all they can within their physical capacity to break the decking and connected rods.”
A delegation of the government, led by the Commissioner for Environment, Hon. Mayowa Adejorin, was at the scene of the building collapse in Ayetoro to assess the damage and coordinate the government’s response.
Accompanied by Hon. Emiola Fakeye, the Governor’s Special Adviser on OSEMA, the team inspected the area and discovered another building in poor condition. The team is working with other relevant ministries to prevent a similar occurrence.
“We inspected the collapsed building and discovered it has no building plans. We are reaching out to other related MDAs to enforce the Governor’s directive,” Hon. Adejorin stated.
Reacting, the state governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke warned developers and residents against constructing houses without approved building plans, threatening to bulldoze poorly built houses that pose a threat to human safety.
The Governor, in a statement by his spokesperson, Mallam Olawale Rasheed in Osogbo, emphasized the importance of securing approvals for building plans to ensure construction standards and avoid needless deaths and injuries.
According to him, “A building plan is not an optional step in the construction process as it prevents substandard houses that frequently collapse and pose safety risks to occupants and the environment.”
“I am using this medium to direct the Ministry of Lands to step up enforcement of approved building plans by developers and residents. Our officials must go to the estates and development areas to ensure houses are constructed according to approved plans.
“We need to save lives by ensuring that houses are built to standard. We must also be proactive by testing the strength of houses before a human tragedy occurs. Substandard houses, once identified, should be pulled down before they collapse.
“We will sanction those who refuse to comply with the condition of approved building plans. I further direct relevant agencies to pull down substandard houses before they cause harm. We must not wait for lives to be lost before we act,” Governor Adeleke said.