Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The death toll from the collapse of a three-storey shopping complex in the Alakija area of Lagos State has risen to nine, including a baby girl, while emergency responders have rescued 27 people alive from the rubble. The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) confirmed the final casualty figures on Friday after concluding search, rescue and recovery operations at the site of the building, which came down on Thursday morning along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway.
The building, located on Old Ojo Road near Alakija Bus Stop in Satellite Town, collapsed at approximately 11:37 a.m. on Thursday, June 25, 2026, trapping an unknown number of occupants beneath the debris. The collapse triggered a large-scale emergency response involving multiple government agencies, including LASEMA, the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, the Federal Fire Service, the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigerian Navy, the Lagos Neighbourhood Safety Corps, the Nigerian Red Cross Society, the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), and the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC).
Providing an update on the operation, the Permanent Secretary of LASEMA, Dr. Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, confirmed that as of 4:20 p.m. on Thursday, 26 persons had been rescued alive and eight fatalities recorded. By 12:06 p.m. on Friday, the death toll had risen to nine, with 27 survivors pulled from the rubble. The fatalities included a baby girl and four adults confirmed dead before rescuers arrived at the scene.
“Search and rescue operations remain ongoing,” Oke-Osanyintolu had said on Thursday evening, noting that emergency responders were using both heavy-duty and light-duty machinery. By early Friday morning, rescuers had reached ground zero. LASEMA confirmed that the operation concluded around 4:00 a.m. on Friday. All rescued victims received immediate medical attention from LASAMBUS officials before being transported to nearby hospitals for further treatment. Recovered bodies were taken to Navy Town Hospital in Alakija.
Eyewitnesses described scenes of panic and confusion as the building came crashing down. “I was going to Mile 2 when I suddenly heard a loud noise behind me. I drove to the front quickly and then turned back. Then I saw that the mall had collapsed,” said Musa, a motorcycle rider who was near the area. Another witness, who narrowly escaped, recounted: “I was just arriving at the shop. Not up to five minutes later, I heard a loud noise and saw smoke everywhere. I was carrying my child and didn’t know which direction to run”. Residents reported hearing voices from beneath the rubble during the rescue operation.
The building, which had stood for more than 30 years, housed several businesses including cybercafés, a photo studio, phone repair shops, mobile network outlets, a bookshop, and office spaces. Residents raised concerns about the structure’s condition before the collapse, with some claiming visible signs of distress and cracks had appeared days earlier. “My boss owns a cybercafé inside the mall. Two years ago, he moved out because he believed the building showed signs that it could collapse,” a resident told reporters.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) attributed the collapse to structural failure, noting that the building had shown signs of imminent collapse for days but occupants remained inside. “The structural integrity of the building had been compromised,” said Mohammed Olatunde, Head of Operations, NEMA Lagos Territorial Office. The Director of Operations, LASEMA, Olatunde Akinsanya, also confirmed that there was a structural defect in the building, noting that even the staircases were shaking before the collapse.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has directed LASBCA to immediately conduct integrity tests on adjoining buildings and ensure strict compliance with building regulations within the area. LASEMA has urged residents to promptly report distressed structures to LASBCA or through its emergency toll-free lines, 112 and 767, to help prevent similar incidents in the future.
The collapse adds to a growing list of building failures in Lagos, raising fresh concerns about enforcement of construction standards and safety regulations. Thursday’s tragedy came less than 24 hours after a six-storey building under construction collapsed along Odili Road in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, killing one person and injuring several others. For the families of the nine victims, including the parents of the baby girl whose life was cut short, the grief is immeasurable. Anxious relatives of missing occupants remained at the site on Thursday, hoping for more survivors as emergency teams continued the search into the evening.
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