Residents of the Odo-Kekere Community in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State, on Thursday evening, were thrown into panic following the sudden partial collapse of a structure in a local public school in the area.
The incident, which occurred after school hours, has been described as divine intervention.
According to a source, a section of the school building gave way late Thursday with a thunderous sound that drew neighbours to the scene.
First responders from the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, and the Lagos State Building Control Agency LASBCA, raced to the scene promptly and cordoned off the area for safety purposes.
A video of the incident, which has since gone viral on social media platform X, was shared by user @omoelerinjare. In the footage, a narrator described the scene and expressed concern over what could have happened if the pupils had not acted swiftly.
“This Odokerere High School at Ikorodu, the school collapsed while the students were receiving lectures in the class, but we thank God nothing happened,” the narrator said. “A lot of things could have happened to those children if not that they were smart enough to quickly escape and rescue themselves.”
The narrator also alleged that school authorities attempted to prevent people from recording the incident.
“The funniest part is that the school authorities were shouting for people not to video the unfortunate incident,” the voice added, questioning whether such an occurrence should be documented given the potential danger to students.
An eyewitness and resident, Mrs Boluwaji Aderinto, whose building is adjacent to the scene, expressed concerns of parents and community leaders in the area over safety measures by relevant authorities as they have earlier called for the renovation of aging educational infrastructure in the axis.
According to Aderinto, “We heard a loud crack and then dust everywhere. We thank God it didn’t happen in the morning when the children were in their desks. This is a wake-up call for the government.”
Meanwhile, high delegation from the State Ministry of Education has visited the scene for on-the-spot assessment and necessary action.
A senior officer of the ministry who confirmed the situation on the condition of anonymity said, “We have officers on site, including the Tutor General/Permanent Secretary, Education District II, already assessing the situation for further action.”
Reacting to the incident, the Lagos State Government expressed regret over the building collapse, saying it had earlier been marked for demolition to pave way for the construction of a befitting classroom edifice before the unfortunate incident occurred.
The clarification was contained in a statement issued and signed by the management of Lagos State Government, Special Committee on Rehabilitation of Public Schools, SCRPS, on Friday.
The statement read in part, “SCRPS, received with shock, the sad news of the bungalow classroom block which collapsed late Thursday, at Odokekere High School in Ikorodu, Lagos.
“The state government regrets the unfortunate incident. However, a classified information from the SCRPS office reveals that the classroom block had already been marked for demolition in order to construct a befitting classroom edifice that will accommodate the huge population of students in the school.
READ ALSO: Survivor Rescued Under Rubble 11 Days After Fire-Outbreak Building Collapse
“We also wish to state that no casualty was recorded at the building collapse. All of our students are in perfect condition.
“The Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has also ordered immediate relocation of the pupils to nearby schools, so as not to disrupt their academic activities.
“A team of the officials of SCRPS will be visiting the school today, to have an on-the-spot assessment of the incident, in order to enable government work out modalities, to begin immediate construction of an ultra-modern classroom block, that will accommodate the huge population in the school.”
This incident has raised serious concern over the condition of buildings in both private and public schools in Lagos, with the call for immediate overhaul of structures across primary and secondary schools in the interest of public safety.