Some policemen and their families escaped being
crushed to death on Monday night following the
collapse of a two-story building at the Pedro Police
barracks, Somolu in Lagos State.
The building, which served as the kitchen, bathroom
and toilet extension, collapsed at about 8.30pm. and
has rendered no fewer than 27 families homeless.
Speaking to Punch, Faith, wife of a sergeant in the
barracks, explained that the collapse was not
surprising considering the dilapidated state of the
barracks, while saying the collapse happened when
many people were already in their sitting rooms and
bedrooms, else there would have been casualties.
“The noise was so loud that the people living
outside the police barracks came in to see whether
an explosion had taken place. For now, some of us
have started packing because we do not know
which building is the next. As you can see, the state
of the buildings are not different from one another,”
she said.
Another resident, who identified himself as Charles
Averikson, called on the Federal Government to
renovate the buildings in the barracks.
He said: “We want the government to come to our
rescue. This building is the first victim of
government’s negligence, we do not know which is
the next. You know collapses are common,
especially as we enter the rainy season. We thank
God the building did not collapse in the morning
during our bath.”
On Tuesday, officers of the National Emergency
Management Agency, NEMA, were at the scene of
the incident trying to evaluate the extent of damage.
The NEMA spokesperson, South-west Zone,
Ibrahim Farinloye, said efforts were on to evacuate
the residents.