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Seven killed, 10 Rescued as Building Under Construction Collapses in Lagos

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Seven yet-to-be-identified persons lost their lives on Sunday when a three-storey building under construction collapsed in the Obalende area of Lagos State.

PUNCH Metro gathered that 10 other victims were rescued by emergency responders, who raced to the scene of the incident.

As of the time of filing this report, the cause of the collapse, which happened around 5.40pm, had yet to be ascertained.

Confirming the incident, the Director-General, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, said the rescued victims were taken to hospital for treatment, adding that the corpses had been evacuated from the scene of the incident.

Oke-Osanyintolu said, “Upon arrival at the incident scene, a three-storey building under construction was discovered to have collapsed. The cause of the collapse has yet to be ascertained, but efforts are presently ongoing by the LASEMA Response Team and other responders to salvage the situation.

“As of 5.40pm, a total of eight men have been extricated alive by the LASEMA Response Team and other stakeholders, and have been attended to and quickly transferred to the Lagos Island General Hospital by LASEMA paramedics for further medical attention.

“Four people, made up of three males and one female, have so far been recovered dead and handed over to the SEHMU at the incident scene. A recovery operation is still ongoing.”

However, the acting Zonal Coordinator, South-West Zonal Office, National Emergency Management Agency, Mr Ibrahim Farinloye, in an update on the incident around 7.42pm, said the corpses of six persons were removed from the rubble, while 10 other injured persons were rescued.

PUNCH Metro gathered that labourers were working on the third floor of the building, which had earlier been sealed off by the Lagos State Building Control Agency, when it caved in, trapped and killed some of them.

A caution tape used in sealing off the building was sighted by our correspondent.

However, based on the account of some rescued victims, it was gathered that some of the labourers, said to be Muslims, were observing prayers when the tragedy struck.

A source, who spoke with PUNCH Metro, said despite the sealing off of the building by LASBCA, the workers used a roofing sheet to shield the site to continue the work.

The source stated, “The work at the site is illegal because LASBCA had sealed off the place so those working there operated against the law. To achieve their purpose, they used a roofing sheet to cover the whole structure, and by so doing, nobody knew that they were working on the site.

“What some of those, who survived, said was that some people are still trapped in the rubble as they were praying when the building collapsed. We don’t know if they are alive or dead, but that is what some of the survivors said.”

The Head, Public Affairs, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Nosa Okunbor, added in an update, “Following the collapsed building at No. 60 Odo Street, Obalende, in the Eti-Osa LCDA, LASEMA activated the state’s emergency response plan with the latest update being that 10 persons were treated with minor injuries; and 10 severely injured persons were removed from the debris, tended and transferred to hospital for further treatment.

“Records indicate that the seven fatalities, made up of six men and one woman, have also been recovered and promptly handed over to SEHMU.

“Further on-site investigation revealed that a portion of the collapsed building said to be occupied by some of the workers had been sealed off by the Lagos State Building Control Agency for obvious reasons of contravention.

“It was also revealed that the owner of the said structure had commenced clandestine operations in the wee hours of Sunday, an illegal action that directly resulted in this unfortunate incident.

“According to eyewitnesses, the casting of the third floor was in progress when the building suddenly collapsed at the illegal construction site.”

The Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Idris Salako, later visited the scene of the collapse and inspected other adjoining buildings in the area for an on-the-spot assessment, and promised to get to the root of the incident.

The Punch

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Army Buries 17 Personnel Killed in Okuama Community

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The 17 military personnel killed in Okuama community in Delta on March 14 have been laid to rest.

The corpses of the soldiers, which arrived at the National Military Cemetery in Abuja at about 2:26 pm on Wednesday, were committed to mother death after burial rites were observed.

President Bola Tinubu, Service Chiefs and other dignitaries were in attendance at the burial ceremony.

DAILY POST recalls that the troops of 181 Amphibious Batallion, Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta State, while on a peace mission to Okuoma Community were ambushed and killed by some irate youths.

The incident occurred when the troops responded to a distress call following a communal crisis between Okuoma and Okoloba communities in Delta State.

The personnel comprised one Lieutenant Colonel, two Majors, one Captain and 13 soldiers.

The officers are Commanding Officer 181 Amphibious Battalion, Lt. Col. A.H Ali; Maj S.D Shafa (N/13976); Maj D.E Obi (N/14395) and Capt U Zakari (N/16348).

The soldiers are SSgt Yahaya Saidu (#3NA/36/2974); Cpl Yahaya Danbaba (1ONA/65/7274); Cpl Kabiru Bashir (11NA/66/9853); LCpl Bulus Haruna (16NA/TS/5844); LCpl Sola Opeyemi (17NA/760719); and LCpl Bello Anas (17NA/76/290).

They also include LCpl Hamman Peter (NA/T82653); LCpl Ibrahim Abdullahi (18NA/77/1191); Pte Alhaji Isah (17NA/76/6079); Pte Clement Francis (19NA/78/0911); Pte Abubakar Ali (19NA/78/2162); Pte Ibrahim Adamu (19NA/78/6079) and Pte Adamu Ibrahim (21NA/80/4795).

DailyPost

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Thomas Yormah Emerges As New WAEC Chairman

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By Eric Elezuo

The West Africa Examinations Council (WAEC) has a new Chairman, he is Prof. Thomas Brima Rick Yormah, a former Deputy Vice Chancellor of the Fourah Bay College and former Pro ViceChancellor, University of Sierra Leone as the 21st Chairman of Council.

According to a statement signed by Demianus G. Ojijeogu, the Head, Public Affairs, WAEC Headquarters, Accra, Ghana, Yormah was elected during the just concluded 72nd Annual Council Meeting of the body, held in Freetown, Sierra Leone. He succeeds Prof. Ato Essuman from the Republic of Ghana.

The highpoint of the week-long Council meeting was the recognition and honoring of three Ghanaian candidates with the WAEC International Excellence Award for their outstanding performance in the WASSCE for School Candidates, 2023. They were Master Amo-Kodieh Leonard Kofi, (1st Prize), Master Dzandu Selorm, (2nd Prize), and Master Asenso-Gyambibi Daniel (3rd Prize). The three candidates were selected from 2,327,342 who sat the examination in The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone.

In the same vein, the Augustus Bandele Oyediran Award for the Best Candidate in West Africa, 2023 also went to Master Amo-Kodieh Leonard Kofi. In addition, two candidates from the Republic of Sierra Leone were honoured with the National Distinction, while one candidate received the National Merit Award. They were Miss. Mammah E. A. Raymonda, (1st Prize), Master Bangura Joshua, (2nd Prize), and Master Fillie Sahr Edward (Merit Award).

While the 71st edition of the Council meeting was hosted by Gambia, the next edition, which will be the 73rd in the series, will be hosted by Liberia.

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Kidnapped Edo PDP Chairman Regains Freedom

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The kidnapped chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State, Dr. Tony Aziegbemi, has been released.

Dr. Aziegbemi, who was set free by his abductors in the early hours of Tuesday, March 26, 2024. Report has it that he got to his Benin City residence at about 3am to the waiting arms of family and close friends.

“I am back home with my family. I am fine. I am just trying to rest and will talk to you later,” he was quoted as saying.

Dr. Aziegbemi, a former member of the House of Representatives, who represented Esan North-East/Esan South-East federal constituency of Edo State, was kidnapped on Friday, March 15, 2024 when his abductors who rode in two Toyota Corolla cars, trailed him after he left a meeting.

The gunmen overtook Aziegbemi’s sports utility vehicle (SUV) at a speed break as it slowed down along Osaro Street, off Country Home Road, close to his house at about 11pm on Friday night before seizing him.

It is not clear yet if a ransom was paid for his release as the abductors had reportedly demanded a sum of N50 million before setting him free.

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