President Muhammadu Buhari has commiserated with the families of those who died, sustained injuries, and were affected by the building collapse in the Ebute Metta area of Lagos State.
With search and rescue ongoing at the site, he prayed for divine assistance in the operations and wished those injured a speedy recovery.
The President expressed his sympathy on Monday in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina.
“The President, who is pained by this tragic incident, salutes the courage and determination of the first responders, national and sub-national emergency agencies in Lagos State, and compassionate Nigerians, whose immediate action in the aftermath of the collapse of the three-storey building led to the rescue of several persons, including many children,” the statement said.
According to him, the frequency of building collapses in the country has become increasingly embarrassing.
President Buhari, therefore, urged the relevant state authorities to work closely with professional bodies to put a halt to such incidents which he described as unfortunate but preventable.
Channels Television had reported the collapse of a three-storey building located at No. 38 Ibadan Street off Herbert Macaulay Way in Ebute Metta.
At least eight persons comprising five males and three females were recovered dead from the rubble, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said.
NEMA’s Zonal Coordinator in the South West, Ibrahim Farinloye, who confirmed this revealed that 23 people have been rescued so far after the structure went down at about 10:56pm on Sunday.
A mother and her child were among those recovered dead from the rubble as emergency officials continued rescue and recovery operations at the site.
They include personnel of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, the Lagos State Ambulance Service (LASAMBUS), and the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), among others.
Sunday’s incident is the second building collapse to be recorded in the Yaba-Ebute Metta axis of the state in almost three months.
Another three-storey building collapsed in the Onike area of Yaba on February 13, resulting in several casualties after the developer of the project reportedly returned to the site despite a stop-work order on the structure.
