The collapsed building
There was pandemonium at the Oke Ayepe area of Osogbo, Osun State on Tuesday when a storey building collapsed on 70 year-old Samuel Osuntoyinbo during rainfall which started around 9.45am.
Our correspondent gathered that Osuntoyinbo was sleeping inside the house when a part of the building collapsed.
The septuagenarian was said to have fallen from the first floor with the chair on which he was sleeping.
The Head of Department of Disaster Rescue Management Unit of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defenece Corps, Mr. Olufemi Awofade , and members of his team were said to have responded immediately and brought the old man out of the rubble.
Osuntoyinbo survived the collapse with a cut on his leg. He was taken to a hospital where he is still receiving treatment.
Some of the residents of the area told our correspondent that the building was old and dilapidated, but occupants had refused to leave the place.
Shop owners and those trading in front of the building were lucky as part of the building where they occupied was not affected.
However, they packed out of the building immediately after the incident.
A former occupant of the building, Mr. Jimoh Oderinde, told PUNCH Metro that he packed out of the building about two years ago because the condition of the house was terrible.
Oderinde said tenants were the ones who always carried out repairs on the building because of neglect by the owner.
The NSCDC boss, Awofade called on residents of the state living in dilapidated buildings to leave such places, saying the danger they were exposed to was too much, especially during the raining season when such buildings would be weaker.
He said, “The Disaster Rescue Management Unit of NSCDC had served all occupants of ancient buildings in the state notice to leave.
“The house which collapsed was served a quit notice. It was among the first houses to be served because of its closeness to our office.
“Occupants of these buildings have refused to leave and we cannot force them out. What we can do is to appeal to them to pack out of the dilapidated house to avert danger.”
The NSCDC boss also urged the people of the state against renting or trading inside dilapidated building.
He said deaths and injuries would be prevented if they could heed the pleas of the government.
PUNCH
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