Okota building collapse: Survivor narrates how he escaped unscathed
A survivor in a two storey building that collapsed at Chris Ngadi Avenue, Ago-Okota, Isolo, Victor Malife, has narrated his experience.
Malife explained that the building collapsed around 2am on Saturday with himself and other occupants escaped unscathed.
He said that watching ‘Wrestlemania’ had kept him awake at the time to notice the terrifying sounds emanating from the building.
The survivor explained that he raised the alarm to notify everyone of the impending danger before the building eventually collapsed some minutes after.
According to him, it had become noticeable that the building suffered structural defects some days ago with the landlady being notified but nothing was done till the incident occurred.
Malife said: ” Some days ago, we noticed some cracks on the building and immediately, we informed the landlady. She promised to send someone over for assessment but she is yet to do that up till now. This morning, at midnight to be precise, after watching Wrestlemania I felt pressed and went to the toilet while easing myself I heard terrible sounds of crack in the building so I raised the alarm and woke my neighbors up.
“In fact, there was a man whose door had stiffened, we had to force the door open to save him with his daughters. It was just after five minutes when everyone had moved out that the building collapsed; it was almost reduced to rubbles. There was no casualty at all, only loss of property and that was because we couldn’t pack all our belongings out before the incident.”
Meanwhile, the Council Chairman of Isolo LCDA, Adebayo Olasoju, who visited the scene, commended Malife for being sensitive and timely in raising the alarm.
Olasoju sympathized with the tenants over the loss of their properties.
As at the time of filing this report, men of Lagos State Building Control Agency (LABSCA), Lagos State Emergency Management Authority (LASEMA), Isolo Division of Lagos State Neighborhood Safety Corps (LNSC) and Ago Okota Police Division were at the scene to handle the incident.
