Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
Tragedy struck the Popo Giwa area of Ilorin, Kwara State, in the early hours of Tuesday, September 1, 2026, when a three-storey residential building collapsed, killing four members of the same family and leaving four others injured. The incident occurred at approximately 5:00 a.m. at No. 41 Popo Giwa Street, beside Gogoro Mosque, in the Ile Oyan Masalasi Gogoro area of Ilorin West Local Government Area, trapping eight family members beneath the rubble.
Emergency responders, including the Kwara State Fire Service, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the Red Cross, and other agencies, were immediately mobilised to the scene. An excavator was deployed to assist in removing debris and gaining access to the remaining trapped victims.
The Public Relations Officer of the Kwara State Fire Service, Hassan Adekunle, confirmed that four people had been recovered dead and four others rescued alive. One of the rescued children was identified as Firdaus, the second-to-last born of the family.
An eyewitness, Abdulganiy Musa, told The PUNCH that the father of the family was a serving soldier, while the mother worked as a casual staff member at the Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies in Ilorin. The Kwara State Commissioner of Police, Ojo Adekimi, stated that the collapsed section was the boys' quarters of the three-storey building. He said all occupants had been evacuated from the main building while authorities assessed the remaining structure.
The Kwara State Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Lawal Olohungbebe, who represented Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq at the scene, described the incident as unfortunate and condoled with the victims' families. He stressed the importance of accessible roads in residential areas, saying the access route to the building contributed to the ease with which emergency responders were able to reach the scene. He urged residents and developers to respect building and town-planning regulations, particularly the need to maintain access roads to residential areas.
The cause of the collapse has not yet been officially determined. The Kwara State Fire Service said a proper assessment of the structure would be conducted to ascertain the actual cause. If the assessment warranted demolition, the relevant authorities would take appropriate action. The Kwara State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) confirmed that the rescued persons were receiving treatment, while the bodies of the deceased and the rescued victims were taken to a hospital.
The building collapse in Ilorin is the latest in a series of structural failures that have raised concerns over building standards and enforcement of town-planning regulations in Nigeria. As the community mourns the loss of a soldier's family, the question remains: how many more lives must be lost before the government takes decisive action to enforce building codes and prevent such tragedies?
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