Lagos Commissioner of Police Hakeem Odumosu has given an update on the victims of the collapsed 21-storey building at Gerrard Road, Ikoyi.
Odumosu said three people have been confirmed dead while three others were injured.
According to him, rescue efforts were still on to get others trapped out alive.
He urged members of the public to exercise caution and allow the rescue workers to concentrate on their job.
“We do not want to lose more lives; the rescue workers are working carefully to rescue those still trapped in the building. Let’s give them some space to allow them do diligent work,” he said.
TheNiche had earlier reported that many workers were feared trapped in the building which caved in around 3 pm along Gerrard Road, Ikoyi, a plush suburb of Lagos.
The owner of the property is to be among those feared trapped.
Possible cause of collapse and number of persons trapped are yet to be ascertained.
Building collapse has become an epidemic in Lagos.
In May 2020, a three-storey building on No.6 Olonode Street, Ebute Metta, Lagos, partially collapsed.
In November 2019, a two-storey building under construction collapsed in Lagos around Glover Court, Ikoyi, collapsed in the course of decking the second floor.
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In August 2019, another two-storey structure collapsed in the Gbagada area of Lagos, barely two days after a two-storey building collapsed on Adio Street, Bariga.
In March 2019, about 10 pupils and a pregnant woman were killed when their school, Baden Schools, on Itafaji Street, near Adeniji Adele, Lagos, collapsed provoking global outrage.
Most of these collapses are attributed to the use of substandard materials.
Two years ago, a Lagos-based human rights and advocacy group, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) implored the governments of Lagos and Oyo states to take immediate action to address the numerous human rights impacts of the deadly and catastrophic building collapses in their respective states, including taking meaningful steps to avoid further damage to the human rights of the affected people.
The organization urged the states to ensure as a matter of priority, access of victims and their families to effective remedies in a transparent manner, specifically, access to justice, adequate compensation, reparation, and guarantees that incidents like such can never happen again.
