Posted by TESSY OKOYE on
Another building partially collapsed in the Ebute Metta area of Lagos on Wednesday, the third within a week. Nobody died in the partially collapsed house, situated in 8 Ashaka Street, off Bickfield Road, Ebute Meta West, unlike the previous two on Lagos Island, which consumed no fewer than five lives.
Another building partially collapsed in the Ebute Metta area of Lagos on Wednesday, the third within a week.
Nobody died in the partially collapsed house, situated in 8 Ashaka Street, off Bickfield Road, Ebute Meta West, unlike the previous two on Lagos Island, which consumed no fewer than five lives.
According to Mr. Gbenga Ige, whose apartment was affected by the impact of the crash of the said house, the incident occurred around 3 a.m. He disclosed that residents were woken by the impact of the crash and had to struggle blindly out of the room with his two kids, as the whole place was covered in dust.
"I was woken up by a heavy thud and the next thing I knew was that the ceiling of my room caved in.
I blindly rushed my children and my wife out of the apartment. My children are receiving treatment because of the dust they inhaled. Though I have lost all my property to that incident, I thank God that my family is alive," he added.
The affected house has been sealed off by officials of the Lagos State Physical and Development Authority, while the affected occupants have been given less than 24 hours to move out of the house.
According to Mr. Augustine Igwe, an occupant of the partially collapsed building, they have always lived in fear, as there were indications that the house had structural defects.
"When I moved into the house a year ago, I noticed that the building was not strong. But I had no choice than to stay till the expiration of my two-year rent. Everytime it rains, the plaster of the wall in my apartment starts peeling off. The last time I called in a bricklayer to work on the walls, he simply advised me to look for another house. It is even worse anytime there is heavy storm, because you would think that the house wants to fall," he added.
According to another occupant of the house, who disclosed that she has been staying in the house for the past eight-years, "this is the second time portion of the building is falling, and all they do is to patch it. We just thank God that it is not the whole building that fell down this time."
The eviction notice did not go down well with many occupants of the ill-fated building who were seen frantically removing their property to undisclosed destinations. Some of them told Daily Sun that despite the fact that the house was not safe for them to live in anymore, they were not given sufficient time to look for alternative accommodation.