Four members of the same family have died after a three-storey building collapsed at Popo Giwa, Ilorin, Kwara State, on Tuesday morning.
The building, located at No. 41 Popo Giwa Street beside Gogoro Mosque, collapsed around 5am, trapping eight family members under the rubble.
An eyewitness, Abdulganiy Musa, said the father was a serving soldier, while the mother worked as a casual staff member at the Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies, Ilorin.
Rescuers later saved a child identified as Firdaus, the second-to-last born of the family. An excavator was also brought in to clear the debris and reach those still trapped. Several emergency and security agencies, including ambulances, joined the operation.
The Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Lawal Olohungbebe, who represented Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, described the incident as unfortunate.
“The rescue mission began immediately after the collapse and to the Grace of God, some were rescued but unfortunately, we have to take it as this,” he said.
He stressed the need for accessible roads in residential areas and urged residents and developers to follow building and town-planning rules.
The Kwara State Fire Service confirmed that four people died while four others survived.
“We have recovered four people dead and rescued four people alive,” Fire Service spokesman Hassan Adekunle said.
SEMA Secretary Magaji Saadudeen confirmed that the eight trapped victims had been taken to hospital, with survivors receiving treatment.
Police Commissioner Ojo Adekimi said the collapsed section was the boys’ quarters and that everyone had been evacuated from the main building.
Ilorin West council chairman AbdulRahman Babatunde Ladan urged residents to report structural defects and leave buildings showing warning signs.
“Whenever you discover something like this, please escalate it. Get to the point of evacuating yourself and your family members from that building. Life is the priority,” he said.
