At least nine people were killed when a three-storey residential building collapsed in Lagos, Nigeria, on Thursday, according to local authorities.
Speaking on Friday, the Lagos State Commissioner for Information confirmed that 27 people were rescued with various injuries. The cause of the collapse has not yet been determined.
The building was located on Alakija Street, near the busy Lagos-Badagry Expressway in Satellite Town, a densely populated residential and commercial suburb southwest of Lagos. The area is home to many aging houses and small businesses serving the working-class community.
At the time of the incident, the building was occupied by residents and office workers. Officials said it housed multiple families, as well as an internet cafe, a photography studio, and a mobile phone repair shop.
The collapse triggered an immediate multi-agency emergency response. Rescue teams from the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), and the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service worked through the night to search for survivors in the rubble.
By Friday morning, LASEMA confirmed that rescue operations had concluded. A total of nine bodies had been recovered, including four adults who died before rescue teams arrived and five other victims, among them a 2-year-old girl.
Building collapses are a recurring problem in Nigeria's financial capital, where rapid urbanisation, poor construction materials, and inadequate enforcement of regulations have long put residents at risk.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has directed the Lagos State Building Control Agency to conduct structural integrity assessments of neighbouring buildings and enforce building codes in the area, LASEMA said.
