The incident occurred after school hours, a factor many residents described as a stroke of luck that prevented casualties
Residents of the Odo-Kekere community in Ikorodu, Lagos State, were thrown into panic on Thursday evening after part of a building at a public school in the area suddenly collapsed.
The incident occurred after school hours, a factor many residents described as a stroke of luck that prevented casualties.
According to eyewitnesses, a section of the school structure gave way late on Thursday with a loud crash, drawing neighbours to the scene.
Emergency responders from the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) and the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) quickly arrived at the site and cordoned off the area as a safety precaution.
As of the time of reporting, the cause of the collapse and the extent of the damage were still under investigation.
Preliminary reports confirmed that no students were in the classrooms when the incident occurred.
Emergency teams are conducting search-and-rescue operations to ensure that no security guards or staff members were trapped under the rubble.
An eyewitness and nearby resident, Mrs Boluwaji Aderinto, said parents and community leaders had long expressed concerns about safety in the area, noting that authorities had previously been urged to renovate aging school infrastructure.
“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,” Aderinto said.
Meanwhile, a high-level delegation from the Lagos State Ministry of Education visited the scene for an on-the-spot assessment.
A senior ministry official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that education authorities, including the Tutor-General and Permanent Secretary of Education District II, were already on site to evaluate the situation and determine next steps.
The incident has renewed concerns about the condition of buildings in both public and private schools across Lagos, with renewed calls for an urgent overhaul of aging primary and secondary school infrastructure to ensure public safety.
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