A fresh tragedy struck in the early hours of Monday, October 27, 2025, when a two-storey building collapsed in the Oyingbo area of Lagos, leaving one person dead and several others injured.
The incident, which occurred around 12:11 a.m. on Coast Street, threw the entire community into chaos as residents and emergency responders battled through the night to rescue trapped victims.
According to reports from the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), the agency received a distress call shortly after midnight and immediately deployed rescue teams to the scene.
Director-General of LASEMA, Dr. Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, confirmed that 27 persons were involved in the incident — with 26 rescued alive and one confirmed dead at the scene.
He noted that the survivors were treated for various degrees of injuries while others were rushed to nearby hospitals for further medical attention.
The body of the deceased was recovered from the rubble and handed over to the appropriate authorities.
In a disturbing twist, another collapse was reported earlier that day at No. 54 Cole Street, Cemetery Bus Stop, near UBA Bank in Oyingbo, where 15 persons — including four children — were rescued.
The Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) later revealed that the structure had been previously marked as distressed, and residents had been warned to vacate due to visible structural weaknesses.
While the exact cause of the collapse remains under investigation, early findings suggest that structural fatigue, poor maintenance, and possible violation of building codes could have contributed.
Authorities are expected to carry out a detailed structural integrity test to determine what led to the disaster.
Officials from LASEMA, Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, and NEMA were all on-site to ensure no one was left trapped beneath the debris.
Sadly, this incident adds to the growing list of building collapses in Lagos — a state that accounts for over 55% of all reported collapses in Nigeria between 1974 and 2025, according to data from the Building Collapse Prevention Guild.
Between those years, over 1,600 lives have been lost in more than 650 incidents, many of which were linked to substandard materials, unauthorized modifications, and disregard for professional engineering standards.
The Lagos State Government has once again reiterated its commitment to enforcing building safety standards.
The Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development condemned the latest tragedy, warning property owners to desist from altering approved structures or ignoring distress notices issued by LASBCA.
Community leaders and concerned citizens have also called for stricter penalties for developers and landlords who compromise safety in pursuit of profit.
The collapse in Oyingbo is a stark reminder of the urgent need for stricter enforcement of building regulations, proper monitoring of aging structures, and swift evacuation of marked buildings.
As rescue operations conclude, families of the victims are left grieving yet another preventable disaster in Nigeria’s most populous city.