How I lost 5 relations in 70-year-old collapsed building in Ilorin – Survivor

At least five persons including members of the same family were feared dead following the collapse of two-story buiding, adjacent Masalasi Gogoro, Popo-Giwa area, Ilorin the Kwara state capital.

The lifeless body of one of the trapped victims and her child were recovered from the rubbles a situation that threw the entire community into mourning .

Four others were also rescued alive and rushed to the hopital for treatment from where information filtered in that three more persons gave up the ghosts.

Police confirrms two deaths

But the commissioner of police in charge of the state, Adekimi Ojo, said the police can only confirm the death of only two persons.

He said the deceased were members of the same family.

Ojo who spoke to Journalists during his on the spot assessment of the situation said, all the surviving occupants of the collapsed building have been evacuated .

But a survivor who lost five relations in the incident, Mallam Kudus Olarewaju, said the death toll from the incident had risen to five.

Speaking with Blueprint.ng in an emotional laden voice, Olarewaju, a former coorporation secretary of the Kwara State Television Service, gave a graphic details of the incident.

He recounted that the incident happened some minutes after 5am just afer the first call to prayer from the community’s mosque.

The First Call to prayer

“I was inside the building ,it was early hours this morning precisely some minutes after 5am .The first call to prayer have been made by the Ladan .

“I was contemplating going to the toilet to perform ablusion .Thank God that I have not moved close to the toilet before I heard a loud sound, gbaa…

“Everybody woke up immediately but I could not see anything becuase dust had covered everywhere and I don’t know what to do becuase I don’t know what happened.

“At the end of the day, I now discovered that it was the Boys Quarters attached to the main building that collapsed, where my younger brother who is a Staff Sergeant in the Nigerin Army and about eight members of the family were trapped in the building. I noticed that he was also awake and about performing his ablusion too. He was the first person to be rescued alive,” he said.

Then comes the bad news

Speaking further, Olanrewaju, who broke down to tears in the middle of the interview as he forcefully held back tears disclosed that five members of the family who were evacuated from the trapped rubble and rushed to the hospital, have lost their lives .

“From all indications, from the information I am getting from those in the hospital, we have lost five of them.

“I have lost my children, I lost their mother and four of them. only my brother that is a staff Sergeant in the Nigeria Army is alive, I have lost five of them according to the information I got from those in the hospital, others are responding to treatment”, he said as he forcefully held back tears.

Appeals

The grieving survivor appealed to the Kwara state government to come to the aide of the survivors receiving treatment in the hospital even as he lamented that the collapse of the said buiding has left the family with a double jeopardy of having to mourn their loved ones and contend with accomodation challenges.

“The buliding is gone”, he lamented.

Olarewaju said the building had existed for more than 70 years providing shelter to the family before the incident of Tuesday September 1, 2026 .

Fire service releases occupants manifests

Meanwhile, the Kwara State Fire Service has released the names of victims involved in the incident.

While the service confirmed that four persons were rescued alive, it however said four others evacuated from the rubbles of the collapsed building were feared dead.

A statement by the public relations officer and head media unit of the service , Hassan Adekunle gave the names as :

•Muhammed Bolakale – 55 years
• Fasilat – 53 years
• Mistura – 28 years
• Barakat – 26 years
• Zainab – 23 years
• Hajia – 15 years
• Muqtar – 7 years
• Fridaos – 10 years

Verdicts

In its reports about the incident, the fire service also stated that “the collapsed structure, located adjacent to Masalasi Gogoro, was a two-storey building comprising approximately 26 rooms. During the incident, eight rooms collapsed, trapping eight victims beneath the debris.

“Upon arrival, the men of the Kwara State Fire Service immediately commenced a painstaking search-and-rescue operation, working under extremely challenging conditions to locate and evacuate those trapped beneath the collapsed structure.

“Through the determination, bravery and professional expertise of the firefighters, four victims were successfully rescued alive, while four others were recovered and suspected to be deceased.

“From the professional assessment carried out at the scene, the structure was observed to be unsafe and unfit for habitation, as the building appeared unable to withstand the pressure exerted on its structural components.

Advisory

The Kwara State Fire Service further urged members of the public to report visible signs of structural weakness, cracks or other conditions that may indicate that a building is unsafe.

It also urged property owners are encouraged to ensure that buildings are properly assessed and maintained by qualified professionals.