Buildings often fall down in Nigeria, and experts say that this is partly because of the poor quality of the materials used.
In the Ikeja neighborhood of Lagos State, a one-story structure collapsed, killing one person.
The incident occurred on Wednesday at No. 12 Aromire Street in Ikeja, according to the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), which confirmed the number of casualties. It said the structure had housed a grocery store but that it largely collapsed as a result of construction work done on the property by some untrained workers.
Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, the permanent secretary of LASEMA, stated in a statement on Thursday that “the agency rapidly responded to the emergency call soon after it was escalated and triggered its emergency response plan by dispatching its responders to take complete control of the situation.”
“Unfortunately, an adult male who was reportedly a welder passed away at the scene instantly. His remains were found and taken away from the area.
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““According to the Agency’s Team’s post-disaster evaluation, the building does not represent a hazard to nearby structures,” The Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) and the Nigerian Police were notified to take further action after the building was roped off.
This building fall is the most recent one to happen in Lagos and other parts of Nigeria.
In Nigeria, building disasters are often caused by bad craftsmanship, low-quality building materials, and bribes to avoid official inspection.
Six people lost their lives when a seven-story building under construction in the city collapsed in September.
In recent months, there have also been fatal building collapses in other regions of Nigeria.
In his plea for higher building standards, President Muhammadu Buhari said it was “getting more embarrassing” how often buildings were falling down.
According to a South African university researcher looking into construction mishaps, at least 152 buildings have collapsed in Lagos since 2005.
