A three-storey building housing Yemco Daycare Nursery, Primary and Comprehensive College has collapsed on Adu Street, Aguda, in the Ogba area of Lagos State, leaving several students injured during a frantic evacuation that triggered a stampede.
PUNCH Metro reports that the structure caved in at approximately 11 am on Thursday. According to eyewitness accounts, students were going about their normal activities when a sharp-eyed resident spotted a sudden crack developing in the building's wall and raised the alarm.
Speaking with Punch correspondent, a resident identified as Femi Aderoju described the sequence of events that led to the narrow escape. "A fashion designer who has a shop close to the street saw a sudden crack on the wall of the school, and that prompted him to raise the alarm," Aderoju recounted.
"When we heard him calling on the staff of the school to notify them of what happened, we also joined him to compel them to quickly evacuate. That was how the teachers and the students were hurried out of the school premises. The evacuation was within five to seven minutes."
However, the emergency evacuation proved chaotic. Another resident, Dada Philips, explained that the sudden urgency caused students to panic, resulting in a stampede as they rushed to exit the building.
"The students were not prepared for such an emergency. So the moment they were asked to move out of the building in such panic mode, they started rushing out and, in the process, began climbing on one another. This caused some of them to sustain serious injuries," Philips said.
Injured students were rushed to nearby hospitals by their parents, who arrived at the scene after being alerted about the incident. The exact number of injured remains unclear as school officials declined to provide specifics.
One school staff member, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that a head count was immediately conducted after evacuation. "Shortly after moving them out of the building, we immediately conducted a head count to be sure no one was left behind. Some of us did not even remember to pick up our belongings before the building collapsed. We were just so concerned about the safety of the children."
Resident Ajibola Salami suggested that ongoing renovation work on the ground floor might have contributed to the structural failure. "The building never showed signs of distress before the incident. But it could be as a result of the ongoing renovation on the ground floor of the building. That may have resulted in the crack that was seen on the wall."
Security operatives, officials of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), and the Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Corps were observed at the scene.
LASBCA officials ordered the evacuation of residents occupying a two-storey building sharing the same premises with the collapsed structure. The agency later sealed the premises, declaring it unsafe for occupancy.
The incident has reignited concerns about building safety standards in Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital, where structural collapses have claimed numerous lives over the years. Parents and community members are calling for thorough investigations and stricter enforcement of building regulations.
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