By Rosheedat Akinkunle, JKNewsMedia Reporter
CHAOS ERUPTED, Saturday, on Oremeta Street, Ojodu-Berger, after a three-storey structure buckled under its own weight, killing five and injuring at least 15.
The building, home to the bustling Equal Right Restaurant on its ground floor, collapsed around 8:30am, sending shockwaves through the Lagos community and prompting an all-hands emergency response.
First responders from the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), and Lagos Fire and Rescue Services arrived swiftly, digging through concrete and twisted metal in a desperate bid to save lives.
By Sunday morning, five bodies—three women and two men—had been recovered, while 15 survivors, including six women and nine men, were rescued and hospitalised with various injuries.
Witness accounts painted a harrowing picture of near-misses and personal loss.
A man who had just walked into the premises said the building crumbled barely five minutes after he entered.
Another, who parked to retrieve something from his car, was found dead inside the crushed vehicle.
His family, left inside the restaurant, survived.
The structure, reportedly unoccupied on its three upper floors, had long raised concerns.
Emergency officials warned that abandoned buildings often lose their structural integrity over time.
LASEMA’s Permanent Secretary, Dr Olufemi Oke-Osanyitolu, underscored the point while leading the operation: “We must reach ground zero before concluding this mission.”
The Lagos State Government attributed the collapse to non-compliance with materials testing regulations.
Engineer Olayinka Abdul, General Manager of the Lagos State Materials Testing Laboratory, said the tragedy could have been avoided if proper testing had been done.
“We implore residents to assess their buildings. Our facilities are equipped for comprehensive structural evaluations,” he said.
Rescue teams said they are pressing forward as their operations were briefly suspended for two hours after fears of a gas leak stirred panic.
Eventually, firefighters traced the source before work resumed under tightly controlled conditions.
Equal Right Restaurant, known for its lively ambience and popularity during live sports broadcasts, was packed with regulars that morning.
One longtime patron said he narrowly escaped disaster: “I was supposed to be there. If not for a quick errand, I might not be talking to you now.”
Authorities have promptly sealed off the site as investigations continue. However, rescue efforts remained active as of late Sunday, with concerns that more victims could still be buried beneath the rubble.
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