Reports from Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State, reveal that about 168 people, including police personnel and their families, were said to have escaped death at the incident of a building collapse on Saturday.
It would be recalled that a block of building containing 27 self-contained apartments had collapsed on Saturday at the Police Barracks, Sango, Ibadan, in Ibadan North Local Government Area of the state.
It was however gathered from Daily Sun which visited the scene of the incident that about 168 had escaped death from the incident which has left majority junior police officers and their families homeless.
This online news platform learnt that the Zonal Coordinator, South-West of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Saheed Akinyode told pressmen at the scene of the incident on Sunday that even though no casualties were recorded, several properties were damaged.
Akinyode who claimed the said collapsed building was about 100 years old disclosed that some damaged properties like cars and motorcycles were recovered, while some generators were still under the rubble.
It was gathered that one of the policemen who lived in the affected police barracks, revealed that the occupants of the collapsed building which was labelled Block 11 were told a long time ago to vacate the building, following the results of an integrity test conducted on the building.
The officer who pleaded anonymity noted that “But the occupants refused to leave because they are low-rank policemen and they may not have money to rent apartments in the town.”
Also, it was understood while the Commissioner of Police in the state, Williams Adebowale, and the Police Public Relations Officer for the state command, Adewale Osifeso refused to comment on it as policemen who were deployed to secure the scene prevented pressmen from taking pictures and videos at the scene.
Both Adebowale and Osifeso however said the Force Headquarters was handling the situation. and the Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejejobi, would speak on the development.
The State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) on ground also revealed that a preliminary assessment of the collapsed building indicates that it should be totally demolished and rebuilt.
