The Oyo State Government has taken decisive action by sealing off a building under construction that collapsed on Sunday night in the Dugbe area of Ibadan, the state capital. The directive was issued by the Commissioner for Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Mr. Williams Akin-Funmilayo, who visited the site on Monday to assess the damage.
Akin-Funmilayo explained that the sealing was necessary to protect lives and property, and to facilitate a thorough investigation into the cause of the collapse. “After seeing the extent of the collapse, we decided it has to be sealed off because we have to prevent loss of lives,” he said. The commissioner also revealed suspicions about the quality of the building materials used, describing them as “sub-standard and of low quality.”
He further stated that an integrity test would be conducted by professionals from the Ministry of Works to determine the structural soundness of the collapsed building and other outlets owned by the same restaurant chain. “If we find out that the other outlets fail the integrity test, we will bring them down, because we cannot afford to toy with the lives of our people,” Akin-Funmilayo warned.
This incident follows a similar tragedy in October 2024, when 10 people died after a building collapsed in the Olunloyo area of Ibadan. The government’s current investigation aims to prevent a recurrence of such disasters.
