Families across Nigeria continue to live with the deaths, trauma, financial losses and unanswered questions left behind by building collapses. As experts blame weak enforcement, quackery, substandard materials and poor construction practices, ANOZIE EGOLE examines why building collapses persist and what happens to the families left behind
For 50-year-old Saheed Akeredolu, the sound of a collapsing building will forever be associated with the loss of two of his children.
On May 27, 2025, Akeredolu’s 17-year-old son, Abdulmalik, and his younger daughter, Amirat, died when a residential building he was developing in Ikorodu, Lagos State, collapsed.
Abdulmalik, his only son, was preparing for his matriculation at the University of Lagos, while Amirat was his last child.
The tragedy occurred on Children’s Day, when a curfew in the area had altered the family’s routine.
“We all came from God, and we all return one day, but when one returns accidentally, it is somehow painful. We give all our hope to God Almighty. Initially, I had three children, a boy and two girls; I lost my only son and my last child, who is a girl, in the tragic incident,” he said.
The building was nearing completion when it collapsed.
Akeredolu said his children had gone into the building to pray after returning to the family compound. He later fell asleep, unaware that tragedy had struck.
“So that day, after we finished eating, the eldest told me he wanted to go to the main building so that no one would disturb him for what he wanted to do, and I said, “okay.” He later came to meet me and said it was time to go and pray. So he came back to call the junior ones that it was time for prayer, and they couldn’t go out because of the curfew in Ikorodu,” he recalled.
His surviving daughter could not leave the compound because she was menstruating.
“If not because the other girl was menstruating, so she couldn’t go out, I would have lost three of them,” he said.
Three people died in the collapse, including Akeredolu’s mother’s immediate elder brother.
The tragedy also left the family financially devastated.
“Since then, I just put my heart together even as I am speaking with you now; God can call me anytime. But I must confess to you, since that ugly incident, I just started life from scratch. I was wearing only boxers the day this happened,” he said.
Akeredolu also alleged that people he believed were government officials removed building materials from the site after the collapse.
“Someone who lost two children the same day — will that person look for property? Even the people who called themselves government agents came to carry the building materials, even the ones we haven’t used; nobody could challenge them. It is me who is crying for losing my children. So they took everything,” he alleged.
The family is also worried about losing the property.
“We are still lobbying so that the government will not take the land from us. Sometimes, my wife will somehow be emotional; I will still be the one to pet her. The shock is still very fresh in our minds; it is still affecting my only surviving daughter in her academics,” he said.
For the Akeredolu family, the tragedy did not end when the rubble was cleared.
Child lost beneath the rubble
Six years before Akeredolu lost his children, 53-year-old Mrs Omawunmi Balogun experienced a different but equally devastating building collapse.
On March 13, 2019, a school building on Massey Street, Ita-Faaji, Lagos Island, collapsed, killing several people, including Balogun’s eight-year-old daughter, Radiat.
Radiat was a Primary Two pupil and Balogun’s last child.
Balogun, a soft drinks seller on Lagos Island, said the disappearance of her daughter after the collapse triggered a health crisis from which she has yet to recover.
“She was about eight years old when she died on March 13, 2019; her name was Radiat Balogun. When the building collapsed, we started looking for her, but we couldn’t find her. After a few days, someone informed us that she was at the mortuary in Yaba,” she recalled.
The family eventually identified and buried the child’s remains.
“She was in Primary Two when the tragic incident happened, and she was my last child. Since then, I haven’t been feeling fine. The day the building collapsed and we couldn’t find her, I developed hypertension the next day. My blood pressure rose very high, and since then I haven’t been feeling fine,” she said.
Balogun said there had been little or no support from the school since the tragedy.
“And since then, there has never been any intervention from the school that collapsed; I don’t even know if the proprietor of the school is still alive,” she said.
She added that the site continued to be used for schooling.
Her experience raises a question that extends beyond individual grief: what happens to families after the headlines disappear?
Most collapses occur in occupied buildings
The human cost of building collapses was brought into sharp focus following the June 25, 2026, collapse of a four-storey building on Old Ojo Road, near Alakija Bus Stop, off the Lagos-Badagry Expressway in Satellite Town, Lagos.
Eight people died while 26 others were rescued from the rubble in the incident, which also triggered renewed concerns about the safety of occupied buildings across the state.
Speaking at a conference organised by the Building Collapse Prevention Guild, Amuwo-Odofin Cell, in Satellite Town, with the theme, “Building a Resilient Lagos Through Synergy,” quantity surveyor Oluwatomi Ogundare said available records showed that a significant proportion of building collapses occurred in structures that were already occupied.
Citing BCPG records in his presentation, Ogundare said 477 of the 817 building-collapse incidents recorded between October 1971 and July 27, 2026, occurred in Lagos State.
He said 325 of the Lagos incidents, representing 68.1 per cent, occurred while the buildings were occupied, while 121 incidents, or 25.4 per cent, occurred during construction. The remaining 31 incidents, representing 6.5 per cent, occurred at the end-of-life stage of the buildings.
The figures highlight the particular danger faced by residents of structurally compromised buildings, where defects may go undetected until a sudden failure puts occupants at risk.
They also bring into sharper focus the experiences of survivors and bereaved families, many of whom are left to deal with the loss of loved ones, homes and livelihoods long after the rubble has been cleared.
Recurring safety problem
Building collapses remain a major public safety concern in Nigeria, with Lagos accounting for a significant share of recorded incidents.
A January 2025 report by the Building Collapse Prevention Guild, published by The PUNCH, recorded 47 building collapse incidents across 14 states in 2024.
The guild also reported 640 recorded collapses from October 1974 to January 9, 2025.
A 2022 report by Jide & Co Onasali identified building collapse as a major obstacle to sustainable development and estimated that Nigeria had lost properties worth $3.2tn to building collapses over two decades.
The figures provide an indication of the scale of the problem, but the statistics tell only part of the story.
Behind every collapsed structure are families that may lose loved ones, homes, businesses and livelihoods, while survivors may carry physical or psychological injuries long after rescue operations end.
Recent incidents have continued to bring the problem into public focus.
More rubble, more questions
On July 27, 2026, The PUNCH reported the collapse of a three-storey student hostel, Elite Five Star Lodge, beside Tonimas Filling Station in Amokpala, Oko, Orumba North Local Government Area of Anambra State.
The building, reportedly containing about 60 rooms, collapsed while students were inside, trapping some occupants beneath the rubble.
An eyewitness, Ifeoma, said residents heard a loud noise shortly before the structure gave way.
“We heard a very loud noise before the building collapsed. The noise attracted many residents and students, who rushed to the scene to see what had happened. And within moments after the loud noise from the building, the occupants inside started shouting for help as the building fell,” she said.
The Anambra State Fire Service, the Anambra State Emergency Management Agency and other emergency responders participated in the rescue operation.
Police spokesman SP Tochukwu Ikenga confirmed the incident and said security agencies had secured the scene and coordinated rescue efforts.
The National Emergency Management Agency later suspended operations after at least 50 per cent of the debris had been cleared, with the search scheduled to resume the following day.
Two days later, residents of Ajuwon in Ogun State were thrown into mourning after a mixed-use building collapsed during a downpour.
The building, located around OGS Bus Stop on Baale Road, contained shops on the ground floor and residential apartments above.
Three people — an adult woman, a baby and a 75-year-old man — were reportedly recovered dead, while 12 others were rescued.
The Ogun State Government ordered a comprehensive investigation into the incident.
The cases underline the wider risk posed by structural failure: a collapsing building can kill not only its owners and occupants but also tenants, traders, workers and passers-by.
Why do buildings keep collapsing?
For professionals in the built environment, the causes are well known and largely preventable.
The Honorary Publicity Secretary of the Nigerian Institute of Estate Surveyors & Valuers, Lagos State Branch, Mr Tokunbo Akinhanmi, attributed the persistent collapses to weak regulation and poor construction practices.
“The persistent cases of building collapse in Nigeria are largely attributable to poor regulatory enforcement, engagement of unqualified practitioners, use of substandard materials, structural defects, inadequate soil investigations, and the failure of some developers to comply with approved building specifications,” Akinhanmi said.
He called for stronger monitoring and enforcement, the use of registered professionals throughout construction and periodic structural assessments of ageing buildings.
He also urged sustained public education on the dangers of cutting corners.
“With strict adherence to professional standards, regulatory compliance, and proper maintenance, we can significantly reduce these tragic incidents and safeguard lives and investments,” he added.
His comments raise a central question: Nigeria has regulations and agencies responsible for enforcing them, but how effectively are those rules being implemented?
New push for forensic probe
The Federal Government has also begun a new effort aimed at improving the investigation of engineering failures, including building collapses.
The Certified Forensic Engineering Failure Investigator certification programme was launched in Abuja through a collaboration involving the Chartered Institute of Forensics and Certified Fraud Investigators of Nigeria, the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria and the Nigeria Building and Road Research Institute.
Speaking at the launch, the President and Chairman of the Governing Council of CIFCFIN, Dr Iliyasu Gashinbaki, said the programme was informed by findings from a 2026 engineering study.
Gashinbaki said the study documented 111 validated building-collapse incidents between 2015 and 2025, resulting in 321 deaths and 344 injuries.
He said the figures represented an average of about 32 deaths and 34 injuries annually within the dataset.
He also cited an analysis of documented fire incidents between 2022 and 2025, which estimated the value of destroyed goods, properties and business assets at not less than N4.6tn.
Gashinbaki said the figures demonstrated the need for Nigeria to move beyond reactive responses towards evidence-based investigation and accountability.
“Where there is suspected negligence, fraud, malpractice or deliberate compromise of safety, properly conducted forensic engineering can preserve the technical evidence required,” he said.
He said the CEFFI programme would combine engineering, forensic science, law, regulation and investigation to improve the country’s ability to determine what caused engineering failures and establish responsibility.
When owners underestimate construction
The Pioneer National President of the Building Collapse Prevention Guild, Kunle Awobodu, identified another major problem: property owners’ failure to appreciate the complexity of construction.
“Any building going above the level of a bungalow needs professional input. Building is a long-term investment that should not be subjected to jeopardy before, during and after construction,” he warned.
Awobodu, who is also a member of the Ministerial Task Team on Building Collapse, called for greater public enlightenment and stronger monitoring of construction sites.
He also advocated an easier and more affordable approval process.
“Assessment fees should be made affordable, and the building approval process itself should be simplified and digitalised to avoid delays that are bad for project cost control and delivery timelines,” he said.
He further called for measures to eradicate quackery and reduce political interference in building control.
Foundation problem
Civil engineer and Managing Director of Omelis Empire Limited, Okey Emelibe, said structural problems could begin from the foundation.
“When it comes to building collapse, the major cause has always been wrong foundation,” Emelibe said.
He explained that foundation requirements vary according to the soil and the type and size of the building, adding that the foundation suitable for a bungalow could not simply be applied to a multi-storey structure.
He also identified inferior materials, poor supervision and unqualified workers as potential contributors to structural failure.
Emelibe urged government to strengthen regulatory oversight and ensure that qualified professionals and appropriate materials were used.
“The government should as well reduce the charges paid to get approvals and focus on using professionals for the jobs, as we see in the developed world,” he said.
Fear of renting a home
The recurring collapses have also changed how some residents approach the search for accommodation.
Harrison Chinaka, a Lagos resident, said renting an apartment now comes with anxiety over whether a building is structurally safe.
“As someone with a family, the thought of renting an apartment in Lagos now comes with a level of fear unlike before. While searching for accommodation now, I can’t help but wonder whether the building is truly safe,” he said.
Chinaka said he now pays greater attention to the age and condition of buildings, looking for visible cracks and considering whether an area is vulnerable to flooding.
He called for regular structural inspections and strict enforcement of building regulations.
“Only qualified professionals should be allowed to design and supervise buildings, while developers who cut corners or use substandard materials should face severe sanctions,” he said.
He also suggested that government publish information on certified safe buildings and educate residents about warning signs of structural defects.
“When people know that safety standards are being upheld and offenders are held accountable, families will be able to choose a home with confidence rather than fear,” he said.
Another Lagos resident, Timothy Chijiekwu, said the incidents had influenced his own housing preference.
“When renting my next apartment, I will be going for bungalows instead of storey buildings because bungalows are mostly not prone to collapse,” he said.
However, the safety of a building is determined by factors including its design, foundation, materials, construction quality, supervision, maintenance and compliance with approved standards, rather than simply whether it is a bungalow or multi-storey structure.
Beyond the rubble
The immediate response to a building collapse is usually urgent and visible: emergency workers arrive, debris is removed, and survivors are rescued.
For families such as the Akeredolus and Baloguns, however, the crisis continues long after the rescue operation ends.
Akeredolu is left to rebuild his life after losing two children. Balogun continues to live with the consequences of losing her last child.
Their experiences expose a less visible side of the building-collapse crisis: the lives left behind after the rubble has been cleared.
For victims, the questions are not only about what caused a building to fall. They also want to know whether anyone will be held responsible, whether victims will receive meaningful support, whether unsafe buildings can be identified before disaster strikes and whether the same failures will claim more lives.
The experts interviewed for this report broadly agree on the solutions: stronger enforcement, qualified professionals, proper materials, adequate supervision, effective building approval processes, structural inspections, public awareness and accountability.
What remains less clear is whether those measures are being implemented effectively.
That gap between what the rules require and what happens on construction sites may determine whether Nigeria’s building-collapse tragedies remain recurring headlines or become preventable failures of the past.
Source: punchng.com
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