Policemen & Their Family Survive Lagos Barracks Collapse

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 8.30p.m. and has rendered no fewer than 27 families homeless.

The collapsed building

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."

Another photo of the collapsed building

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.