Lagos Mourns Victims of Ikoyi Building Collapse

Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has declared three days of mourning in Lagos State over the Ikoyi building collapse which occurred on November 1, 2021.

So far, at least 36 people have been declared dead after the 21-storey building which was under construction for the past two years, collapsed in Ikoyi district in Lagos. Dozens of people are feared trapped inside and emergency services and residents are still trying to free workers trapped under the rubble of the luxury apartment building.

While authorities have said it is unclear what caused the building collapse, sources have said that only 15 storeys were approved for construction.

In previous cases where buildings collapsed in Lagos and elsewhere in Nigeria, the use of substandard building materials, the deployment of unsafe, cost-cutting techniques and the lack of professional supervision at various levels of the construction process, were named as possible causes.