Breaking: 800-room Lagos building collapses, leaving two people hurt

After a school-turned-residential building in the Ketu neighborhood of Lagos partially collapsed on Sunday, at least two people are currently fighting for their lives at a private hospital.

On Saturday afternoon, after several hours of rain that deluged most of Lagos, the Agboye Estate building on Oduntan Street in Ketu, which contained over 800 rooms and hundreds of residents, first collapsed.

On Sunday afternoon, as people were still attempting to save their possessions, the building collapsed once more, causing another building inside the compound to be completely destroyed.

Numerous families and individuals living in the building were forced to leave after the incident spread panic throughout the neighborhood.

On Sunday evening, as members of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency cordoned off the area, dozens of residents could be seen moving their belongings in various directions.

Lagos officials have designated the problematic compound, which contained several defective buildings, for demolition.

In December 2014, Saturday PUNCH released a report on the collapsed structure titled “500-room house in Lagos where tenants live as prisoners” following weeks of investigation.

The report detailed the appalling living conditions of Agboye Estate tenants, who had to contend with snakes, scorpions, and other venomous creatures because of standing sewage water at the back of the structure.

At least 12 rooms shared a single bathroom and toilet in the majority of the blocks that were built just inches apart from one another.

There are typically two people in each room, making a total of 24 people using one toilet.

In addition, the landlord, Onamo Agboye, forbids tenants from using power generators, electric kettles, air conditioners, or even hosting significant social gatherings like birthday parties or naming ceremonies inside the building.

Every day at 11:00 p.m., the only entrance into and out of the compound closes; nobody enters or exits after that time.

When the building was initially partially sealed, the Lagos State Government later lifted the ban.

After Sunday’s tragedy, the landlord of Agboye Estate has since disappeared.