- The building with over 800 rooms housing hundreds of residents, known as Agboye Estate on Oduntan Street in Ketu, first collapsed on Saturday afternoon after hours of rain.
- Villagers are still trying to salvage their belongings.
At least two people are currently fighting for their lives in a private hospital.
This after a school building that became a school in Ketu District, Lagos, partially collapsed on Sunday.
The building with more than 800 rooms and housing hundreds of residents, known as Agboye Estate on Oduntan Street, Ketu, collapsed for the first time on Saturday afternoon after hours of rain that greeted much of Lagos.
On Sunday afternoon, as residents were still trying to save their belongings, the building collapsed again, destroying another building within the site before finally collapsing completely.
The event caused panic throughout the area, forcing hundreds of families and individuals living in the building to evacuate the premises.
During a visit to the affected building on Sunday evening, dozens of residents were seen moving their belongings in different directions as officials of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency cordoned off the site.
The affected compound housing several defective buildings has been marked for demolition by Lagos officials.
In December 2014, a report was published on the collapsed building titled “500-room house in Lagos where tenants live like prisoners.”
The report described the appalling living conditions of Agboye Mansion tenants, who struggled with snakes, scorpions and other dangerous animals due to stagnant sewage water at the rear of the building.
Most of the blocks, built just inches apart, had at least 12 rooms sharing a toilet and bathroom.
On average, two people occupy each room, bringing the number of users of a single toilet to 24.
Apart from this, tenants are prohibited from using generators, electric kettles, air conditioners or even hosting important social gatherings such as naming ceremonies or birthdays on the premises by the landlord, Onamo Agboye.
The only entrance leading in and out of the complex closes at 11:00pm daily – no one enters or exits when the clock shows.
The Lagos state government partially sealed off the building after the report was released, but lifted the sanctions days later.
The landlord of Agboye Estate has gone into hiding following Sunday’s tragedy.
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